


Not So Ordinary

by BTJE



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Love at First Sight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:53:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 92,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28070478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BTJE/pseuds/BTJE
Summary: Zenith's an ordinary Umbreon, living out an ordinary life... until a Vaporeon named Cleo enters it.
Relationships: Blacky | Umbreon/Showers | Vaporeon
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Not So Ordinary**

**Chapter 1**

Written by BTJE

I don’t own Pokemon. Pokemon is owned by Nintendo, Gamefreak and Creatures Inc. 

* * *

“Ring!” The peaceful silence of dawn was broken by a shrill ringing, the loud noise thrusting a sleeping Pokemon out of his slumber. He sat up on his bed blearily, mind still clouded with fading memories of dreams. 

Jaws parting in a huge yawn, his partially asleep mind directed a paw to his bedside table, haphazardly slamming random items until the right button was hit, silencing his alarm clock. 

Stretching his tense limbs, the Umbreon rubbed the last traces of sleep from his eyes before heading to the toilet to wash up.

This was Zenith Schroff, and he was an ordinary Umbreon. With the normal pitch black fur, red eyes, and yellow rings all in their respective places, there was little to nothing differentiating him from the rest of his species, and he was fine with that. Zenith liked to consider himself average and preferred to keep it that way, choosing to blend in with the crowd rather than stand out. 

Freshened up, Zenith slipped into a red jacket that matched his faintly glowing eyes, flipping the hood over his head, his ears popping out from two holes he had cut in the fabric. Clipping on his utility belt, he descended the staircase that connected the two levels of his house together, heading to the kitchen to make breakfast. The bedrooms and toilet were on the top floor, while the living room, kitchen and dining room were on the bottom. Zenith lived with his mother, an Espeon, his dad passing away when he was young, too young to remember how he looked like. 

Munching a piece of toast, Zenith read the note. Even though its written contents were the same every day, his mom still managed to come up with different ways to convey the same message every day. 

_Dear Zenith,_

_I’m coming home late._

_Cook your own food, or eat out._

_I love you. Take care._

_Creative, huh? There’s pocket money under the plate. Have a great day in school!_

Zenith smiled at the well-written haiku, finishing off the last piece of bread and lifting the plate to retrieve a five-dollar bill. Placing the money in his wallet, he slung his school bag over his shoulders, setting off for the nearby public school that he attended, Kingdra High. 


	2. Chapter 2

**NSO Chapter 2**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

Once in the hallways of Kingdra High, bag safely stored in his locker, Zenith kept his head down, trying to get into the safe haven that was his classroom as quickly as he could. 

_Pleasedon’tbenoticedpleasedon’tbenoticed…_

I **don’t know. With the way you’re acting, you’re bound to get noticed. Did I mention that you’re also wearing a bright red jacket?**

There was that voice again. The same voice he had been hearing in his head for over three years. Zenith was suspected to be suffering from schizophrenia and was diagnosed with the condition after several costly examinations by doctors, along with a steady stream of bottled pills sent to his house. He had tried the medicine, but since it tasted bad and did nothing to cure him, he stopped taking them and cancelled the supply. He counted himself lucky though, since he only had one voice that didn’t speak much, leaving him mostly normal, unlike others whose lives had been ruined because of schizophrenia. Another unusual thing was that Zenith could converse with the voice through his thoughts, something he couldn’t find any other schizophrenia patient do, even with extensive research. 

_I don’t care about how I look, as long as I get to class without being-_

A figure suddenly leapt out in front of Zenith, the ground shaking as the Pokemon landed on the floor, halting Zenith in his tracks as he froze up in fear, his heart sinking as he realised who it was. It was Kurt, a Nidoking. Bullies were no rare occurrence in Kingdra High, constantly terrorising students throughout school hours. However, Kurt was the worst of them all, especially with his reputation for being the top bully in this school. 

_-noticed…_

**You just had to jinx it, didn’t you?**

Zenith often wondered about how he had caught the attention of the majority of the bullies in school. It was most likely his Timid nature, which made him prefer to skulk in the shadows, to be introverted rather than being outgoing and extroverted, which got in the way of making new friends. This resulted in him being always alone, and an easy target for bullies to pick on. 

_Or maybe it’s because they can sense that you’re weak._

**Shut it, you.**

Zenith cowered in Kurt’s shadow as he towered over the Umbreon, the Nidoking easily being twice his height, possibly even taller. Zenith tried to flee, but fear rooted him to the ground, accompanied by an odd sort of curiosity towards what Kurt wanted from him.

“Give me all your money, NOW!” Kurt roared. His voice was so loud that it blew Zenith’s hoodie off his head, Zenith grimaced as the wave of warm air slammed into his face, enduring the bad-smelling breath and spittle that accompanied it. Kurt’s order surprised Zenith though. Not many bullies asked him for his money since there were better students to shake down for funds, and those who did only did so once, seemly disappointed after Zenith showed them an empty wallet. Kurt must have been feeling desperate today. 

If it had been any other student in Zenith’s place, they would have quailed under Kurt’s menacing glare, obeying the Nidoking’s orders instantly. Even though Zenith wanted to take the easy way out, to hand over his pocket money to avoid any trouble, but he felt compelled to defend the single five-dollar note that he had. Sure, it was a small sum, but it was a small sum that his mom had worked hard to earn, and Zenith was not going to willingly hand it over. 

“No.” Zenith’s voice, although barely a whisper, rang out clearly throughout the suddenly empty hallway. 

“What did you just say, shrimp?” Kurt’s eyes narrowed in anger. “Hand over your money now, before you get a Poison Jab up your ass!”

_You go, Zenith! Stand up to him!_

“No!” Zenith’s voice was louder now, the Umbreon crouching to the ground to hide the utility pocket that held his wallet. However, Zenith’s defensive posture was mistaken for an offensive one by Kurt, the Nidoking taking a step back in surprise. He wasn’t used to Pokemon talking back to him, much less challenging him to a fight. But if it was a fight that that puny Umbreon wanted…

“No?” An evil smirk appeared on Kurt’s face as he regained his composure, getting into an attacking stance. 

“Then it looks like I’ll have to go with plan B: I’ll beat you to a pulp, THEN extract whatever money’s left from your battered remains.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**NSO Chapter 3**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

Kurt lashed out with a Double Kick, catching Zenith by surprise. One kick threw Zenith into the air, while the other one landed on his midriff. The force of the kick sent Zenith flying backwards, smashing into a row of lockers so hard that the metal dented under the sudden impact. With all the air knocked out of him, Zenith tried to catch his breath, leaving the stunned Umbreon defenceless to the Nidoking rushing towards him. Lifting him up by the collar of his jacket, Kurt picked a dazed Zenith up from the floor, slamming him back into the lockers again. He started to rain Poison jabs upon Zenith, the attacks ripping through fabric and skin. The Umbreon gasped out in pain as the hard blows cut into flesh, Kurt’s purple-tipped claws leaving Zenith’s body with red stains. His vision also started to turn a shade of purple, a sign that he was poisoned, and Zenith could feel his health slowly draining away with every breath he took. 

_Did you expect this when you told me to ‘stand up to him’?_

**It was on my list of possible outcomes.**

Kurt had beaten Zenith up so badly that he was slipping in and out of consciousness, entire body screaming in agony. It would take just one more direct hit from him to knock Zenith out cold. As the Nidoking wound up another punch, Zenith braced himself, even though he knew that it was no use. He closed his eyes, waiting for the finishing blow.

But no blow came. Instead, there was the dull thud of something hitting armoured hide. The weight pinning Zenith to the lockers suddenly vanished, followed by a ‘thump’ of a heavy object hitting the concrete school floor. Curious, Zenith opened his eyes. 

Kurt was lying face down on the floor, completely encased in a block of ice. Standing across the frozen Nidoking was a female Vaporeon. She walked over to Zenith, who was stuck in the crumpled mess of lockers, inspected his wound-ridden body. 

“Nice Ice Beam.” Zenith muttered from the side of his mouth that still worked. 

“Thanks. What happened to you?”

“Got into a fight with this guy when I refused to give him my money.” With both of his hands trapped within the steel, Zenith used his head, lolling to one side to point in Kurt’s direction. 

**More like you got completely pulverised.**

_Thank you for your input._

“So… can you help me get out of here? I’m a bit stuck.” 

In one swift motion, the Vaporeon grabbed Zenith by the collar of his shredded jacket and pulled, extracting him out from the dented lockers. As Zenith was falling forwards from the momentum, the Vaporeon manoeuvred her body so that Zenith’s limp body landed safety on her back, lowering his gently onto the floor. 

_Damn, she’s strong._

**I think you’re just light. Speaking of strong, look at those twigs you call arms! Hardly any muscle at all!**

_Hey! Just cause you can’t… see... them doesn’t mean they’re not there!_

While Zenith was laying on the floor, having his internal argument, the Water-type Pokemon standing next to him was doing something that caught his eye. The Vaporeon was using her paw to draw an oval in the air, with water being secreted from her paw as she did so. In a few seconds, she had made a thin oval of water. The oval was slightly taller than Zenith, and he admired how it completely defied the law of physics as it hung in the air facing him. 

“This is one of my moves, Aqua Ring. When you step through it, it will heal all of your injuries! Well, I hope it will. Also, here’s a Pecha berry for the poison.”

_Wow. She’s really nice._

**Ooh~**

_Dude… just stop._

Since Zenith’s body was injured, hurt and poisoned, his mind hazy with pain. He was too tired to think, and just let the water-type Eeveelution support him as he stumbled towards the Aqua Ring, munching the Pecha berry, wincing in pain with every step and chew he made. 

When Zenith stepped through the Aqua RIng, it was as if he had been drenched by a bucket of cold water. It refreshed his senses, snapping the Umbreon out of his pain-filled daze. The Aqua Ring then collapsed, having served its purpose, drenching Zenith from head to toe. It was wet, but it was working. Zenith could feel his wounds slowly heal and close up, leaving no scars. 

Able to walk normally again, Zenith turned around to look at his saviour from possibly certain death. 

“I-I don’t th-think we’ve introduced. I’m Zenith Schoff.”

“Cleo Torrent. Nice to meet you, Zenith.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you aroun-”

“I’m new here.”

Zenith’s sentence was interrupted by the gasp that came from Cleo. She was staring at his ears with a look of astonishment on her face. 

_That’s weird. Do I have something on my ears?_

Curious and confused, Zenith reached up with a paw and touched his ears. Nothing seemed out of place. Puzzled, he looked at his paw, only to discover that it was damp, stained with a bright yellow liquid. 

_No. Nonononononononononono!_

**It’s too late now. Everyone in this school will know.**

_Well, I guess it had to happen eventually… I just didn’t think that it would happen so quickly…_

**Quickly? It’s already the third school term out of four!**

_It’s only my fourth year here-I get what you mean._

In his hurt state, Zenith had forgotten about what water would have done to him, and now it was coming back to bite him. The yellow paint covering Zenith’s rings and bands came off as the water from the Aqua Ring, exposing the light blue sheen hidden beneath it.

Although the hallway was empty a few minutes ago, during his ‘fight’ with Kurt, it was now filled with countless students, jostling and clamouring as they crowded around Zenith, trying to get a better look at the Umbreon. The crowd let out a collective gasp as the last of the yellow paint was washed off his rings and bands, showing Zenith in his true colours-literally. The other Pokemon surrounding him murmured to each other in hushed tones as they took in the Umbreon’s newly revealed light blue rings, as well as the light blue bands around his ears and tail.

It was at that moment that the students of Kingdra High School found out.

Zenith Schoff, the Umbreon, was a Shiny.


	4. Chapter 4

**NSO Chapter 4**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

The hallway was abuzz with chatter and the flashing of cellphone cameras, Pokemon pointing and staring in surprise at the sight before them. Zenith could have stood there for ages in shock, looking at the students who were gaping back at me. Fortunately, it didn’t have to come to that. Someone wrapped a dry towel around his shoulders and led him away from the gawking, clamouring crowd, but Zenith didn’t even have to turn his head to know who it was. The scent of ocean mist was too familiar, despite only having met her a few minutes ago. Through his peripheral vision, Zenith could see Cleo’s facial expression. Judging from that, he could tell that she was feeling extremely guilty about causing such a ruckus and drawing so much attention to the both of them, even if the hint of confusion on her face showed that she had no idea what she had revealed to half of the school. It seemed like she needed a place to calm down. New or old student here, anyone would have been overwhelmed by all the things that had happened, especially so early in the morning. 

_Well, at least from all him experience in hiding from others, I know every hiding spot in this school._

**Wow! Your timid nature has finally come in useful! For once!**

_Why do I even put up with you?_

**Because you know that without me, you feel lonely? Also, cause you can’t get rid of me.**

_… I hate it when you’re right._

**As flattered as I am right now, don’t worry about me now! Focus on Cleo!**

Snapping out of his mental conversation, Zenith realised that his inner voice was right. Cleo was looking at me with a distressed gaze, eyes darting left and right nervously, but inadvertently straying to the light-blue ring on his forehead. 

“Hey, Cleo, you seem kinda stressed about this entire thing. I know a place where it’s a bit quieter. Do you want me to bring me there, to calm down?”

“S-sure, I guess that would be fine. It’s just that everything’s happening too fast for my liking.”

Hearing Cleo’s consent, Zenith brought her to the wall next to the Janitor’s Closet. He was sure that he was the only one that knew about this, that the wall was actually a hidden sliding door, painted to perfectly match the wall around it. The door opened to a spacious room, and could be locked only from the inside. As an added bonus, the walls were actually soundproof, ensuring total privacy to the Pokemon in the room. Zenith had accidentally stumbled upon it when running from bullies once, and now had devoted most of his free time in school to making it his secret base. The room was filled with miscellaneous items like chairs, wardrobes that contained towels, and giant jars. The weirdest item in the room was a giant cupboard. Its doors consisted of mirrors on the outside, but on the inside they were revealed to be one-way glass, enabling whoever was inside the cupboard to see out. Zenith had secretly installed a small surveillance camera in the cupboard. It was hardly noticeable, and although it made him feel guilty placing it in there, it would help him know who else knew about this place. It also made him wonder who put all of the furniture and items in the room, why the school even had this built in the first place, and why no one remembered that this room even existed. Sliding the door open, Zenith ushered Cleo into the room, gesturing for her to sit on the floor. As she sat, he quickly dried himself with the towel. He had discarded his jacket earlier, since it had been torn to shreds by Kurt's attacks. Wiping the last drops of water away from his fur, Zenith laid the towel on the floor to dry, joining Cleo to sit on the floor. 

“Okay… it should be a bit quieter here. Take your time to catch your breath, calm down, anything like that.”

The Vaporeon’s rapid breathing slowed as she hugged her bag close to her chest, glancing around at unfamiliar surroundings. Her fins, which were previously pressed stiffly against her head, were starting to relax, rising back up again. 

“Um… where are we? I don't think I saw this room on the school’s map…”

“It’s a hidden room that I found by accident. I think I’m the only one who knows about it, so I don’t think anyone will walk in on us here. It looks like we have an hour before class starts, so I guess we can stay here for a while. I can answer a few questions, if you have any.”

“Thanks… Zenith, was it? Yeah, thanks for bringing me here. I sometimes freeze up a little when everyone’s looking at me. Don’t like all those stares...”

“It’s fine. If anything, I should be thanking you. You really saved my life back there with Kurt.”

There was an awkward silence between the two Eeveelutions, each of them still slightly uncomfortable in each other’s presence, not wanting to ask too intrusive questions to a Pokemon that they had just met a few minutes ago. Trying to find something to do to break the tension, Zenith wiped off the remaining dried yellow paint stains on his fur as Cleo looked on with curiosity.

“Um.. sorry for asking, but… um…” Cleo looked down at her paws as she spoke, wringing them as if regretting her question. “...why was everyone staring at you like that just now? You know… when I accidentally washed off all that paint…?”

Zenith wanted to dodge the question that he dreaded hearing the most, but something compelled him to tell Cleo the answer. 

“Everyone was staring at me because I’m a ‘Shiny’ Pokemon.” Seeing Cleo’s confused look, he continued to elaborate. “A ‘Shiny’ Pokemon is a Pokemon that has a different colouration to what is usual for its species. About one in every 819200 Pokemon is a ‘Shiny’, meaning that Pokemon like me are super rare. Combined with the fact that Umbreon are not common here, the chances of me being shiny are probably lower than winning the lottery. That’s why I received so much attention.”

“But if you’re a ‘Shiny’ Pokemon, why did you pretend to be a normal Umbreon? Wouldn’t you want to let other Pokemon know? I mean, you’re super rare! You could be famous!”

Zenith chuckled softly, before replying. "Trust me, Cleo. I did consider that option, but after some research, I found out that being a ‘Shiny’ does not mean that our lives will be all glitz and glamour. There are many different groups out there, some who like 'Shinies', and those who hate them. The haters think that we are breaking the natural order of nature, and call us freaks due to our different colour. They also spend most of their time trying to 'cleanse' the world of 'Shinies'. But then, the fans aren't that good either. Their only positive trait is that they think that 'Shinies' should be protected, but then even they go one step too far. They kinda treat us like higher beings, and are really annoying, based on what I've read online. Some of them track 'Shinies' down, and sometimes even stalk them, just to catch a glimpse of how a Shiny looks like in real life. In fact, I read an article about a ‘Shiny’ Pokemon that somehow got his Shiny status exposed into the world. Once the public knew, he was instantly hounded by tons of other Pokemon, fans and haters alike. In the end, it was all too much for him. He hanged himself in his own house. Couldn't even leave his house due to the mob surrounding it. And that is why I tried to be a normal Umbreon. Not only because of the suicide thing, but because I don't like trouble. And fame seems to be more trouble than it’s worth."

More silence followed Zenith’s words. He realised that he had been staring absent-mindedly at his reflection in the cupboard mirrors, and looked back at Cleo. She was still looking at him, but her eyes were drifting back to the blue ring on his forehead.

**Hey, Zenith. I think she’s… checking you out?**

The voice was right. Cleo still seemed to be in her dazed trance, her eyes travelling from the blue rings to Zenith’s head to the similarly coloured rings and bangs on his arm, body, ears and legs. 

_This is kind of creepy._

**I know. What’s creepier is the fact that someone probably likes you.**

At first, Zenith tried to ignore Cleo’s wandering gaze, fidgeting uncomfortably as he felt Cleo’s wandering gaze move all over his body, hoping that Cleo would snap out of whatever state she was in herself. However, after a couple minutes, it became apparent that that wouldn’t be the case. Trying to not look as irritated or creeped out as he felt, Zenith clapped his paws in front of Cleo’s face. The Vaporeon jumped, startled by the unexpected noise. Her face instantly grew red at the realisation of her subconscious actions and she stared down straight at the floor, embarrassed to meet Zenith’s eyes.

“So… yeah.” Zenith scratched the back of his head, looking away from Cleo to try and relieve some of the shame she was feeling. “Now you know why I do all these things to stay hidden.”

“But now your secret’s out! Pokemon are gonna know! And it was all my fault…” Cleo’s fins drooped sadly, still staring at the floor, but her previously mortified expression was replaced with one of guilt.

**Huh. I guess she WAS listening after all.**

“Hey. Don’t beat yourself over this. As I said before, if you didn’t help me just now, I wouldn’t even be here talking to you right now. You did what you thought as right, Cleo, and I owe you plenty for that. As for me, I’ll… I’ll find a way to cope.”

_**RING!** _

Before Cleo or Zenith could ask any more questions, the school bell rang, signalling the start of classes. 

_I took an hour to explain? No wonder she was spacing out._

**I guess a career in teaching is not for you.**

“I think I have to go…”

“Yeah, me too.”

After exiting the secret room, Cleo and Zenith compared timetables. 

_**800-845 English** _

_**845-945 Gym/ Physical Education(PE)** _

_**945-1045 Battle Training** _

_**1045-1130 Science (Biology/Physics)** _

_**1130-1200 Recess** _

_**1200-1300 Math** _

“Wait, we’re in the same class?” Zenith knew that Cleo was new in this school, but with the way that he had always kept to himself outside of his house, he had never noticed her in the same classroom with him.

“Yeah… funny coincidence, I guess,” Cleo laughed nervously, thankful that the Umbreon had been oblivious to her staring at the back of his head during classes.

As Cleo and Zenith walked towards their classroom, the Vaporeon stopped in her tracks. She seemed deep in thought, so Zenith continued walking forward, expecting her to catch up when she was done.

“Hey, Zenith!”

"After school, do you want to hang out?"

"Um.. y-yeah! Sounds like a plAn!"

Zenith facepalmed mentally as the cringeworthy reply left his mouth, his voice cracking on the word 'plan'.

**That's you for you! Your timid nature acting up at the worst of times!**

_You couldn't keep quiet for less than 10 minutes, could you?_

However, hearing Zenith’s reply, Cleo's eyes seemed to light up in what seemed to be delight, before catching up to him.


	5. Chapter 5

**NSO Chapter 5**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

List of staff in Kingdra High School (Pokemon School #230)

-Principal Suicune

-Vice Principal Raikou

English- Mrs Woon( Beheeyem)

Math- Mr Gon (Porygon-Z)

Science- Mr Simon (Reuniclus)

Gym/ Physical Education(PE)- Mr Ho (Machamp)

Battle Training (BT)- Ms Sal (Salamence)

* * *

Zenith made it to English, bustling into the classroom with a minute to spare. He had to use the toilet, so Cleo had arrived before him. The room was already full of students, with only one empty seat left. Zenith brisk walked quickly to his seat, wishing that he did not have to throw his hoodie away earlier. It would’ve helped to avoid eye contact, or at least cover up his newly exposed colours. He tried his best, but was unable to ignore the snarky remarks between his classmates as he walked past them. 

“Look! They were right! That dude’s a Shiny!”

“Freaks like him shouldn’t belong here…”

“I think his name’s Zenith… you know, the one that’s always by himself, skulking around the school. I don’t think he even has any friends….”

_Ouch._

**It only hurts 'cause it’s true!**

It was only today that Zenith noticed Cleo in the classroom, when the Vaporeon had pointed the fact out herself to him. Her table was at the back of the classroom, tucked in a corner. She gave an encouraging smile, which Zenith found helped to lessen the stinging from the painful comments. At least there was someone in this school on his side.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Zenith finally reached his seat, which was positioned right in the middle of the classroom. The whispers still continued, and most within earshot were hate-filled. 

_Great. I this school of at least a few hundred Pokemon, it seems like almost all of them are shiny haters._

**What did you expect? That Pokemon would actually like you now?**

_Fair point._

At exactly 8 am, as the school bell rang for a second, final time in the morning, an old female Beheeyem teleported into the classroom, materialising with a loud ‘pop’. This Beheeyem was Mrs Woon, Zenith’s English teacher. The Psychic-type scanned the room with her usual deadpan expression, mentally taking attendance, before starting to teach the class about expositional essays and how to write them. The topic might actually be fun in the hands of another teacher, but Mrs Woon wasn’t one of them. Accidental or on purpose, Mrs Soon had a way of making any topic boring. Her words left her in a flat drone, causing listening students to either fall asleep or lose interest in the lesson.

Sure enough, in about five minutes, the class was filled with snores, the only Pokemon unaffected were those with abilities that blocked out sound or prevented sleep. But even with those abilities, the Pokemon looked tortured, as if they would do anything than sit through this lesson.

Zenith’s mind was already drifting from various sorts of writing techniques to Cleo Torrent. The Vaporeon may not be in his field of vision, but she was definitely on his mind. She was a nice girl, and was quite good-looking too. She was also rare, due to Eevees having a gender ratio of 12.5% to be female. He felt something for her, no doubt, but he didn’t know what…

_Rare? Snap out of it, Zenith! She’s a Pokemon like you, not a collectable trophy! With this sort of thinking, you really don’t deserve h-_

Suddenly, a paper airplane was thrown at Zenith from behind, hitting the back of his head. Although Zenith’s Ability, Inner Focus, prevented him from jumping in surprise, the sharp projectile still hurt. Rubbing the back of his head in pain, he looked back at the perpetrator. It was Smith, a Haunter with a mischievous streak. He usually never bothered Zenith due to the Umbreon’s super effective typing, but it seemed that seeing a Shiny seemed to ignite some kind of hatred within the Ghost-type.

_Just like everyone else in this Arceus damned school._

**Don’t use his name in vain!**

Picking the paper airplane up from the floor, Zenith unfolded the sheet of paper to see that it had one word written on it.

_**FREAK** _

_How expressive._

**Couldn’t have said it better myself.**

English class ended with Mrs Woon teleporting out of the class the moment another bell rang to signify the end of the lesson. Like many of the teachers here in this school, she gave out homework that she would never collect back anytime in the future. Because of this fact, many students chose not to do any work at all throughout their entire school year. It was a miracle that even half of the cohort even managed to survive until now, four years into their six years of education. Zenith still finished his work, though. There were always solutions at the back of the worksheets for him to check his answers.

**Nerd.**

_Hey, exams are still important! They’re still a part of this school, you know. Oh shoot- I’m going to be late!_

Lost in his thought-conversation with the entity in his head, Zenith forgot about Cleo and raced off towards the gym. 


	6. Chapter 6

**NSO Chapter 6**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

Pushing open the gymnasium door, Zenith found the room to be empty, besides the PE teacher, Mr Ho. Mr Ho was a Machamp, and years of training devoted to his job had made him even more well-built than the most of his species in every way, from height to strength. Seeing Zenith enter, Mr Ho waved at Zenith with one of his four arms, acknowledging his presence. He seemed to be one of the few Pokemon that were okay with the Umbreon being Shiny, although his eyes seemed to linger on Zenith’s blue rings for longer than usual.

Returning the wave, Zenith climbed to the top of one of the nearby bleachers and sat there, waiting for the other students to arrive. The gym was empty, most of the students enjoying their fifteen-minute break before the lesson elsewhere. Judging from the way Mr Ho was laying out hurdles and gym equipment, it looked like it was going to be another physical training session. Zenith groaned internally. It wasn’t that he couldn’t make it through those sessions, but he found repeatedly doing the same exercises with relative ease kind of boring.

**Weird flex, but okay…**

_Hey! I’m not the only one in this class that can accomplish the same things that I do!_

**Yeah, but if they could, why does your school even have PT in the first place?**

While struggling to come up with a good reply to the entity in his head, Zenith felt a paw being placed on his shoulder. All rational thought abandoned the Umbreon’s mind as his instincts kicked in, fearing the worst. He grabbed the paw and pulled on it, throwing the Pokemon over his shoulder.

It wasn’t until then that Zenith realised how light the Pokemon he flipped was, and how the paw was blue, the light colour matching none of the bullies that constantly picked on him. That meant that the paw that he had just yanked on belonged to…

_Cleo!_

**It was at this moment that Zenith knew… he fucked up.**

Zenith was sitting on the ninth step on the bleachers, which meant that he had just thrown Cleo off the highest step. It was about 5 metres from the ground, and since Cleo was taken by surprise by Zenith’s sudden actions, she had no time to react, her face an expression of surprise and shock as she fell. It was too late for Zenith to do anything now; by the time that he had realised his mistake, Cleo was plummeting halfway towards the ground. He was moving too slow to rescue Cleo in time, the only thing that the Umbreon could do was close his eyes, apologies and regrets speeding through his mind as he braced himself, dreading the thud of a body hitting the hard gymnasium floor. 

Silence. 

What seemed to be another second passed. Still silence. 

_Wait. Cleo should have hit the floor by now. Did I not hear the landing?_

Zenith opened his eyes in fearful curiosity, expecting to see a gruesome sight, but was instead greeted with a strange one. Cleo hung in mid-air, mouth wide open in a scream that Zenith could not hear, falling slowly towards the floor. The Umbreon looked around in confusion. Mr Ho was placing a large pull-up machine on the ground, but his actions were slowed to a crawl. Zenith moved his paws and legs, noticing that they were still moving at the same speed as per normal. 

_Am I… slowing time down? I never knew I could do that!_

**Yeah, but you know something that you can do? SAVE CLEO! She’s going to be severely injured if she hits the floor!**

Hearing the urgent tone of the voice in his head snapped Zenith out of the wonder-filled daze he was in, and into action. He rushed down the bleachers, leaping two steps at a time till he was directly next to Cleo. It was sort of lucky that she was falling close to the steps so that she was within Zenith’s reach. Placing one leg on two different steps to maintain his balance, he placed his paws directly underneath Cleo’s falling body, ready to catch her without tumbling down the stairs from the impact. 

Just as suddenly as Zenith’s ‘time powers’ were activated, they disappeared without warning, everything around Zenith speeding up rapidly. Cleo landed in his arms, the Vaporeon was surprisingly light. Zenith stumbled a little from the impact, but still managed to maintain a stable footing in order to not fall. In the background, Mr Ho set the pull-up machine on the ground with a thud, the sound sending chills down Zenith’s spine, the Umbreon shuddering as he imagined what would have happened if he hadn’t caught Cleo in time. 

Cleo grunted as she landed in Zenith’s arms, the wind knocked out of her from the fall. She looked up at Zenith, trying to see who had caught her, and their eyes met. The two stared at each other, crimson orbs lost in pools of turquoise. They were so close, Zenith could smell the scent of ocean mist that hung around her. He had no idea what his scent was, but if the small smile on Cleo’s face was any hint, the Umbreon could tell she liked it. 

They were locked in their position for so long that Zenith’s arms were starting to ache from the strain. Reluctantly, he broke Cleo’s gaze to gently lower her to the ground. As soon as the Vaporeon was out of Zenith’s arms, they looked away quickly, blushing furiously at what they had just done. 

_Luckily no one was here to witness that. More teasing is what I don’t need right now._

**Thinking of which, where are all your classmates? I know it’s still your break, but is your entire class full of slackers?**

_Pretty much._

Mentioning students, Zenith circled Cleo, giving the Vaporeon a once-over as he checked her body for any signs of injuries. Finding none, he gave a loud sigh, sitting down on the gym floor with relief, before realising that Cleo was looking at him with a quizzical expression on her face. Remembering what he had done to her before, the Umbreon scrambled back up on his feet, apologising profusely.

“Look, Cleo, I'm sorry for almost injuring you. I just thought you were one of the bullies and I overreacted and I...and I-”

Cleo held up a paw, cutting off Zenith’s nervous rambling. "It's okay," She placed a paw on the Umbreon back to calm him down. "After all, I'm not hurt, am I? All thanks to you. But how did you do that?"

“Uh… do what?”

"How did you manage to catch me?" Zenith flinched as he heard Cleo's loud, incredulous tone, wishing for the gym’s doors to remain shut. "Not to be ungrateful or anything, but you were sitting on the second-highest step when I surprised you and you were able to make it in time to catch me! How... was that possible?"

“I- I honestly don’t know…” Zenith’s head began to ache as he pondered the same question, struggling to come up with a logical explanation to what he had done moments before. How had he managed to slow down time? It wasn’t something he was able to do until just now. And as far as he knew, no other ordinary Pokemon in the history of the world was documented to have time-wielding abilities.

Cleo raised an eyebrow in skepticism, but nodded. "It's alright if you don't want to tell me. We all have secrets, and I respect your privacy."

“It’s not a secret-” Zenith was forced to clam up as students started to stream into the gymnasium in chattering droves. Noticing this, Mr Ho gestured for everyone to gather around him, cutting off his conversation with Cleo as they joined the boisterous crowd.

_-I really...don’t...know. Say, you wouldn’t have anything to do with this, would you?_

**…**

_...right._

Gym was surprisingly uneventful, given everything that had happened. Zenith’s prediction about PT was correct. He wasn't bullied as much, since everyone was preoccupied doing the various exercises Mr Ho had planned out for them. However, he couldn't talk to Cleo as well. 

As the bell rang, the entire class heaved a collective sigh of relief, glad to be free from the torture that was a Physical Training session. The other students proceeded to make their way to the Battle Room, where their next lesson, Battle Training, was being held.

Battle Training was an initiative held by Kingdra High to teach all students how to use their different types of moves effectively in the scenario where one needed self-defence. Battle Training was Zenith’s least liked lesson, paws down. Even though it was the most fun, students were allowed to train with one another through ‘friendly battles’. Previously, when he was fitting in, he would be practicing in a corner by himself while the bullies duelled it out on the multiple elevated battle arenas in the room. But now that the school knew that he was a 'Shiny', the Umbreon was sure that there would be a few classmates who would love to ‘train’ him. 

_I can’t wait to be beaten up…_

**Oh, look on the bright side! We both know you’re completely incapable of handling yourself in a fight, but at least you now have Cleo to help you! You won’t be alone anymore!**

I _really have to stop admitting this… but I guess you’re right._

Said Umbreon turned around to see Cleo trot up to him, having helped Mr Ho put back the equipment that the Machamp had laid out previously. Standing alone at the double doors of the gymnasium, Zenith felt bad for just waiting at one side, spending his time screaming at the voices in his head instead of helping her out.

“Uh… yeah! Le-let’s go.” Zenith facepalmed himself mentally as he felt himself turn into a bumbling idiot around the Vaporeon, tongue twisting on even the simplest of words. His nervous brain felt the need to say something, anything to break the silence as they walked to their next destination. 

“You-you’re not perspiring? I thought that even after all those strenuous activities…”

**Smooth move, charmer boy. Of all possible topics to pick from, you choose sweat.**

_I-I...you..only thing I noticed...ugh. I can’t even think straight._

Luckily for Zenith, Cleo chuckled and bumped against his flank lightly, taking mock offence to what she perceived to be a curious, joking statement from the Umbreon.

“What, just ‘cause I’m a girl means that I can’t take what you boys can?” Cleo shot back lightheartedly, watching Zenith’s face flush red, mistaking her passing comment as a serious one and struggling to come up with an appropriate response.

“U-uh, no, I-I didn’t mean it li-like that.. I just wanted to say that-” As Zenith trailed off into defeated silence, he received another friendly nudge from the Vaporeon.

“Calm down, Zenith. It was a joke. My molecules are actually similar to that of water, which means that I can basically become water if I want to. I just absorbed the water in my sweat back into my body, that’s all.”

Zenith realised that in the midst of their conversation, they had unknowingly traversed the hallways of the school to end up in front of the Battle Room, Pushing open one of the heavily fortified double doors, he allowed Cleo to enter the room first, before stepping in himself.


	7. Chapter 7

**NSO Chapter 7**

I don’t own Pokemon. 

* * *

Cleo gasped in amazement as she entered the room. Even though she had been in Kingdra High for quite some time, she was always amazed by the existence of this subject, since it had first originated from this school. Battle Class had always been a new concept for her, one never offered in her previous school, and she couldn’t wait to see what more this lesson could offer. Zenith, on the other paw, was the polar opposite of Cleo. The Umbreon was trembling, and his gaze travelled around the room apprehensively, as if expecting an attack from someone. 

_I’m gonna die I’m gonna die I’m gonna die…_

Zenith jumped as Cleo placed a paw on his shoulder, careful not to flip her this time.

“Hey Zenith… you okay?”

“Y-yeah. I’m fine… just worried about the bullies here. They’ve always bullied me when I was, well, ‘normal’, nut now that I’m a ‘Shiny’...” Zenith shuddered at the thought. 

“Don’t worry, Zenith. I’ve saved your life, you’ve saved mine, I’m pretty certain that we’ve got each other’s backs!” 

“Uh…”

“Look, if you need help, just ask, okay?”

Cleo’s reassuring words seemed to do the trick. Zenith’s fur, which was originally standing straight up due to anxiety, lay flat again as he relaxed, nervousness dissipating partially.

Zenith stared into Cleo’s care filled eye, her confident smile, and he felt his heart flutter. A strange emotion rose up in him, one that was completely new to him in the entire sixteen years that made up in his life. 

_Wh-what am I feeling...?_

**It’s called love, you idiot. You like Cleo.**

_Blunt much? But even if I am, I don’t know if she feels the same about me…_

**Sure. Ignore the fact that she’s had eyes on you for the entire time she’s been in this school.**

_Did you say something?_ Zenith returned back from to his mental conversation, distracted by the arrival of more classmates bursting through the double doors of the room. 

**No. Why not just ask her?**

_I’ve only interacted with her for a day! I… I need more time for this._

**Whatever helps you sleep at night, loner.**

At this point in time, Mrs Sal raised a claw, descending silence upon the once noisy class. Towering at an impressive height of 2 metres, Mrs Sal was not a Salamence one would want to mess with. Her prowess in both physical and special moves, as well as the ability to guarantee a quiet class, was the reason why out of all other Pokémon that applied for this job, she was hired instead to teach these special school-only lessons, where accidents and injuries occurred the most.

"Okay class, today I have a special treat for all of you," Ms Sal announced. She stepped to her right to reveal an odd-looking machine that was previously hidden from view by her large frame. It looked like a palm scanner connected to a printer by a bunch of wires. "As you all know," Ms Sal continued, "Each Pokémon has its own level, which starts at 1 when you all hatch from your eggs. Whenever you train, the experience you gain allows you to 'level up'. The higher your level, the stronger, bulkier or faster you get, and you increase the range of moves you get to learn. This is the reason you have gym, also known as PE. Now this-" Ms Sal gestured at the machine. "- is a level sensor. You put your paw, claw, tentacle or whatever appendage you have on the sensor, or scanner. The machine will find out what your level is, then print it out here." Ms Sal pointed at the printer slot. "The level sensor is very accurate, so there's no need to check twice. Everyone line up in a straight row and use the machine one by one."

The class hastily formed a line, with Cleo in front and Zenith being shunted roughly to the back. The line shortened quickly, with the printer printing out results as soon as each Pokemon touched the scanner. Finally, it was Zenith's turn. Even though students were free to start battling once they had used the sensor, Zenith could still feel eyes on him as he stepped forward, placing a paw on the scanner.

**Wow, for a Shiny-hating school, your classmates seem real concerned about you! Look at their worried gazes, all directed towards you!**

_I really wish you weren’t so sarcastic about this…_

In the short time frame of a few seconds, the machine had done its job. With a soft ‘ding’, a little slip of paper lay in the printer slot. Zenith snatched the paper out of the slot, checking it quickly before hurrying back to where Cleo stood, his ears flattened to try and block out the snide remarks from the other students.

" Look, the freak got his level checked!"

" What level do you think he is?"

"I think around 20, at most..."

Zenith's face flushed red with embarrassment as he heard peals of laughter sound out behind him, and he quickened his pace to reach Cleo's side, where she was waving at him to come over.

"So, what did you get?" Cleo asked in a whisper.

Zenith showed Cleo his piece of paper, eyes silently pleading for her to keep her voice down.

“Forty-two? I’m only level thirty-eight!” Cleo exclaimed in a soft scream. 

Zenith stared at the ground shyly. With his mother barely around most of the time, he was not used to receiving so much attention from any Pokemon, especially one that was female.

"Thanks… I guess. I...I've been training a lot recently..."

Cleo was about to reply, but was interrupted by a jeering voice from Zenith's morning tormentor, Kurt.

"Hey, look! The freak's talking to the fish-dog!"

White-hot fury seemed to course through Zenith's veins when he saw Cleo's reaction. The Vaporeon was one of the few Pokemon in this school that accepted him as a ‘Shiny’. She respected him for who he was, and Zenith was not going to let her be insulted like that.

"Leave her alone!" Zenith's voice reverberated throughout the Battle Room, over the conversations of other students. Many of the students, including Ms Sal, turned towards the sight that was Zenith walking towards Kurt, interested in how this would play out.

"What did you say, freak?" Kurt growled as he watched the small Umbreon walk towards him.

"I said leave Cleo alone," Zenith replied. There was a hint of menace in his steely tone that Kurt had never heard before.

"I meant what I said, freak! If you're so compelled to defend the fish-dog's honour, then face me in the ring, one on one." Kurt gestured to one of the many wrestling ring-like battle arenas that were set up all over the Battle room. Kurt blinked in astonishment as Zenith silently leapt into the arena without hesitation, before looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to do the same. Cleo stepped forward to enter the ring as well, but stopped in place as Zenith held up a paw.

Kurt hesitated. He could feel an aura of confidence that surrounded Zenith, replacing his normal timidity. Would he be able to beat the Umbreon this time? Kurt dispelled the thought with a grunt. He was a level forty-five Nidoking, for Arceus' sake! He could definitely take on a weak little Umbreon. As soon as both Pokemon were in the arena, Ms Sal pressed a button on the side of the battle arena. Blue hexagons formed over the battle arena, encasing it in a dome-shaped shield. Their function was to prevent stray or missed attacks from exiting the arena and accidentally hurting someone. The dome was translucent, so it still allowed Pokemon outside to watch the battle.

"First to concede or faint loses. " Ms Sal announced, "Battle commencing in three... two..."

"Beep!" a buzzer sounded inside the arena, and the battle between Kurt and Zenith officially began.


	8. Chapter 8

**NSO Chapter 8**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

Zenith- 16 years old, Lv. 42

Cleo- 16 years old, Lv. 38

* * *

Upon hearing the buzzer, Kurt immediately rushed towards our small Umbreon protagonist, his speed making it impossible to identify the move he was using. But before Kurt was about to hit his target, he suddenly slowed down, as if the battle was playing out at a quarter of its original speed. A small smile formed on Zenith's face as he realised what was going on. Sure, he wouldn’t normally have time to react when Kurt charged at him, but with this, he might be able to win this fight.

_So, these powers only activate when I'm in immediate danger, or what?_

**Yeah, or whenever I feel like it. Now, go beat up this Nidoking. I have something to do first.**

_Wait, what?_

In a room in the Hall of Legends, Dialga took the Pokemon Life Connector off his head as Palkia poked her head into his room.

“You knocked, Palkia?” Dialga set the helmet on a nearby table, turning the attached microphone away so that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

Palkia eyed the headset before replying, a hint of concern in her voice. “Are you alright, Dialga? You haven’t left your room in days. The others are worried about you.” 

Dialga snorted in disbelief. “The day when Legendaries care about each other is the day dragons can hit fairies. Anyways, I haven’t been in here that long.”

Palkia scratched the back of her head, feeling both sheepish and guilty for trying to use such an obvious lie. Dialga’s reply wasn’t wrong. The Legendaries tended to only look for themselves. If someone needed help with something, they all retreated and locked themselves in their rooms faster than one could say 'Please'. Dialga could be absent for days on end and no one would even question his disappearance.

“But… there IS one Legendary here that does care about you…” Dialga looked up, his gaze meeting Palkia’s, the [Spacial] Pokemon giving him a sly wink. 

“And who would that be?”

“Me,” Holding their stare, Palkia closed the gap between the two Legendaries, so close to Dialga that their lips were almost touching. Palkia’s palm lay under Dialga’s chin, claws gripping the sides of the Temporal Pokemon’s face in case she shied away from her sudden advance. Luckily, that wasn’t necessary. Dialga remained as still as he was before, still looking into Palkia’s eyes. 

“You really can’t stay in here forever. We both know that I can’t do everything by myself, you at least have to help me out from time to time.”

A nod from Dialga as acknowledgement, before gesturing towards the headset that lay on the table next to him. 

“I know, but this is important. I’ll set some time for you later.”

As Palkia released her hold on Dialga, he picked up the Pokemon Life Connector again, and was in the motion of putting it back onto his head before being interrupted by a question from Palkia. 

“So, who have you… selected?”

“A 'Shiny' Umbreon.”

“Interesting. Good luck then.” Conjuring up a swirling black and blue portal, Palkia left the room, leaving Dialga alone once more. Putting the Pokemon Life Connector back on, Dialga returned back to his previous task. 

**I’m back.**

_Back? You never left!_

Groaning, Dialga face-palmed himself in self-annoyance. His conversation with Palkia had led him to forget that he had slowed down time on Earth, so the few minutes that he had spent with Palkia were only a few milliseconds back in Zenith’s reality. 

Zenith had sidestepped Kurt’s attack with ease. Now in slow motion, he could make out the Nidoking’s large, sharp horn glowing a bright green. Megahorn. Kurt had apparently tried to take him down quickly with a powerful, super-effective move. 

_This might be the only time I say this, but thank you, Dialga!_

**No prob- hey wait! How did you know who I am?**

_Next time, actually put down the phone first. You may have slowed down time, but you excluded me when you did so._

**So… you were standing there. In slow motion. For a few minutes, listening in to my conversation.**

_Yeah. Sorry, but it’s kind of boring watching Kurt move so slowly._

Even though Zenith had tried to be as casual as he could throughout the entire exchange, now that he knew the identity of his inner voice, his mind was completely blown. The voice in his head, the one that he had been stuck with for more than three years, the one that had caused him to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and think he was slowly going insane, was actually Dialga, the Pokemon God of Time?

Awesome. Very scary, but a little awesome.

Gathering back his wits from the sudden reveal, Zenith returned his attention to the ongoing fight. The hulking purple figure was still ‘charging’ past him, moving so slowly that Zenith could make out every single battle-earned scar that adorned the Nidoking’s tough hide.

_Alright then. Now that we’ve gotten this identity stuff out of the way, let’s defeat this Nidoking!_


	9. Chapter 9

**NSO Chapter 9**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

Kurt staggered as his horn hit the hard walls of the battle arena, the jarring feeling jolting through his body. Somehow, Zenith had dodged at the last second, moving swiftly to one side to avoid the attack. Kurt turned towards the Umbreon, shaking his horned head from side to side to rid himself of the minor headache he had brought upon himself. He swung a heavy hand in a wide arc in Zenith’s direction, but Zenith was now a black blur, his blue rings a streak the outlined his every movement. Nimbly leaping over Kurt’s clenched fist, Zenith started planning his next move. As his feet touched the floor, two fully charged Dark Pulses appeared in his paws in an instant, both dark orbs pointed in the direction of Kurt, who was looking around to see where his opponent went. Their eyes met for a split second, and the paw Zenith had outstretched towards Kurt twitched subconsciously, as if daring the Nidoking to come at him. 

Kurt was starting to get mad. The ‘Shiny’ freak that stood before him had dashed all hopes of a quick match, and was now taunting him! The Nidoking could feel his temperature rising as he got angrier and angrier, the emotion washing over him like a wave of warm water. Anger fueled his hatred towards his opponent, seeping into Kurt’s brain like a poisonous fog, clouding his mind as he stared at Zenith, all rational thought leaving his mind, leaving a single, simple instruction.

_**KILL THE FREAK!** _

All of Zenith’s senses were on full alert as he watched Kurt’s face grow a darker shade of purple, the Nidoking somehow managing to look even more menacing than before. 

_Is it me, or does he look bigger than he was before?_

Indeed Kurt was larger, the anger coursing through his bloodstream like a deadly enhancer. Kurt left no time for Zenith to ponder the change in size, lashing his tail at the Umbreon at breakneck speeds. As for Zenith, he avoided getting his own neck broken as he leapt into the air again, the thick tail whipping the air beneath him so fast that a loud crack could be heard. However, the sweep of Kurt’s tail still flung him through the air, Zenith’s light body unable to resist the powerful winds generated. Soaring through the air, a loud, guttural roar was the only indicator of the incoming attack. Kurt gave Zenith no time to land. He rushed towards the falling Umbreon at alarming speeds despite his bulky stature, lashing out with a flurry of Double Kicks. It was only with time powers that Zenith was able to dodge most of the attacks, body twisting in midair to manoeuvre around the limbs flying towards him. However, a few slipped through his guard, forcing Zenith to watch as an unavoidable foot flying towards his chest in excruciating slowness, with nothing he could do to get out of the way. Zenith flew a good distance backwards as the one-clawed foot caught him in the chest, flinging him a good distance away. He grunted in pain as he hit the floor, air knocked out of his lungs from the raw power behind the impact. The Dark Pulses dissipated, disappearing from both of his paws. 

**I’m starting to think that he’s out of control.**

_Really? Why would you say that?_

**Well, firstly, he’s screaming like a maniac. Secondly-**

_Sarcasm!_

**Well, SORRY Zenith, if I, DIALGA, a GOD, can’t understand SARCASM.**

_Fine, fine! You know, I still loathe you, time powers or not._

**Okay, then let’s see how well you fare without them!**

No, wait- Zenith cried out telepathically, but there was no answer as towered over him, a foot dramatically raised over his body, determined to finish him off. Feeling like there was no way to get himself out of this jam, Zenith considered just laying there and getting beaten up. Without time powers, there seemed to be no chance of winning against the enraged beast he was facing up against. But as he scanned the sea of spectators, a single, worried face caught his eye. Cleo. Zenith was suddenly reminded about the reason why he was even in this arena in the first place. He was here, partially for himself, but mostly to defend Cleo’s honour. Even though he did volunteer himself into this mess without Cleo’s consent, there was no way he could just give up and let Cleo down. Surprisingly, this thought gave him strength. With newfound energy coursing through her veins, Zenith pushed off against the ground, rolling to the side, narrowly avoiding the foot that slammed down on where his head once was, stuffing flying out from the damaged, mat floor. Getting back onto his paws, Zenith faced Kurt once more, the Nidoking even angrier that his opponent had escaped again. 

_Well, this is it. No powers, just plain old ordinary Zenith, facing the biggest bully in school, armed with only pure instinct and skill. I just hope I have enough of both to survive._

Back in the Hall of Legends, Dialga watched the two Pokemon slowly circle one another, his expression unreadable. 

Loud footsteps could be heard as Kurt broke the stare between them, making the first move, charging at the Umbreon like before. Zenith charged up another Dark Pulse, slamming it down on the floor at the exact same moment when Kurt reached him. The Dark Pulse detonated as it was pressed against the floor, exploding outwards in a small, powerful shockwave that threw both Pokemon backwards. Kurt, caught unaware, toppled head over heels, falling to the ground with a loud crash. Zenith managed to stay on his four paws as the shockwave pushed him back, paw pads burning from the friction as he skidded against the floor. His eyes shone a bright crimson as he made a small, dark sphere between his paws, a ball devoid of all light. With all his might, Zenith hurled the Shadow Ball at Kurt, the ball moving so fast that it was just a black blur. 

Kurt was getting back up on his feet when the Shadow Ball struck him, hitting him square in his white chest plate. The small sphere contained more power than he expected, pushing him back slightly and throwing Kurt off balance, his tail whipping around wildly. As the Nidoking staggered, stumbling backwards, Zenith ran towards him, leaping onto Kurt. The Umbreon’s paws landed on Kurt’s chest for a moment, pushing back as he jumped off quickly in an arcing backflip. The additional force finally toppled the wobbly Nidoking, Kurt landing on his behind with a painful thump. 

Zenith growled, a low rumble of annoyance as Kurt pulled himself back up onto his feet. 

_Can’t this guy just give up?_

Zenith charged a Dark Pulse in his jaws, studying Kurt intently to try and anticipate his next move. However, Kurt just stood there, panting heavily, his face scrunched up in concentration. Zenith considered attacking, but his cautious side warned him to stay back, to conserve his energy. Testing the waters, Zenith flung the Dark Pulse towards Kurt, only for the Nidoking to swat the ball aside, exploding against the curved arena walls. The bully’s eyes were now filled with cold anger and grim determination as he stared down at Zenith, creeping the Umbreon out immensely. With paws and jaw empty, Zenith felt defenseless, wishing that he hadn’t thrown his Dark Pulse. Mind racing, Zenith tried to remember all the moves that Kurt had. Poison Jab, Megahorn, Double Kick... what else? 

Lost deep in remembrance, Zenith didn’t notice Kurt stomp his feet on the arena floor, and it was only the ripping sound of fabric that caused him to look up. The impacts from the stomp sent cracks spreading outward from under his feet, spraying up spongy stuffing as the ground started to tremor.

_Earthquake._

The cracks were spreading quickly throughout the entire arena. The hard stone beneath the soft gym mattresses were exposed, thrown up into the air by the vibrating ground. As Zenith struggled to keep his balance and footing on the increasingly uneven ground, he noticed the cracks spreading quickly towards him. Zenith wanted to sigh, realising what he was going to have to do in order to survive this attack, but he had no time. He leapt up from his spot just as the cracks reached him, the ground crumbling into pieces where he once stood. 

Kurt smirked in self-satisfaction as he watched Zenith jump. The only solid, uncracked piece of land left was under his feet, the remains of the arena sharp, jagged pieces of stone. That Shiny scum would have to come down from his jump, and when he did, he would be in the Nidoking’s domain. He would finally be obliterated.

Zenith noticed the victorious smile on Kurt’s face and smiled slightly to himself. He knew what the Nidoking was thinking, and it was time to bust out one of his own moves, one that he had been practising on for quite a long time. 

At the peak of his jump, Zenith charged up a Dark Pulse, placing it beneath his paws as gravity took over. As he dropped towards the ground, the Dark Pulse was detonated. The move did not damage its user, but the explosion shockwave still pushed him upwards, extending his airtime. He repeated the action again and again, effectively ‘bounding’ around the arena in mid-air, waiting for the Earthquake to end, while scouting out a safe spot to land on. Zenith also found the look of astonishment on everyone’s faces enjoyable to look at, especially Kurt’s.

The Nidoking’s face was turning so purple with anger that the shade almost matched the colour of his plates. The fact that the Shiny was still alive was enough of an insult. Even though none of his close-range moves could hit the scum, he could certainly think of a way to still hurt, maybe even kill him. 

Kurt started to stomp his feet repeatedly. Each stomp sent an additional tremor across the arena, causing the broken floor to shake, dislodging large chunks of stone, which were now flying into the air with every stomp. Lashing his tail, Kurt struck each chunk of stone within range, whipping at them that they flew in the direction that he wanted, with so much force that the stone shattered into smaller fragments against the domed arena wall. 

Zenith was fully relying on instinct now as his only tool to avoid the stones. Finding enough time to charge up more Dark Pulses was starting to be a challenge as Kurt continuously sent stones of all sizes speeding towards him. Thinking on his feet, Zenith improvised, leaping on and off the slower moving, larger stones that were whipped at him, charging up Dark Pulses in between jumps. The stones were still large enough to avoid, but the fragments they broke into were much harder. Zenith was able to dodge most of the projectiles zipping past him, but his luck couldn’t last forever. A small stone grazed the length of his flank, its sharp, jagged edges drawing blood, which was welling out of the long cut. The cut stung, and Zenith gasped from the sudden pain. His head was starting to swim from the sudden injury, slowing his movements and reflexes. Zenith dropped, smashing into the rock he had planned to leap off. It was literally all downhill from there. Stunned from the impact, Zenith’s body dropped with nothing to counteract the pull of gravity. It bent this way and that as multiple rocks were now able to hit their target, slamming into various parts of his body. As he plummeted to the ground, Zenith managed to regain some semblance of control, rolling as he hit the arena floor to try and lessen the pain. Another squelch, and Zenith gasped again, the tiny spikes of broken stone that lined the floor shallowly impaling his curled back. On the bright side, the ground was no longer shaking, the Earthquake seemed to have ended.

Laying on the ground, Zenith realised how fast he was breathing, his body trying to take in as much oxygen as possible. The creation of so many Dark Pulses had taken a lot out of him, and his multiple wounds were still bleeding, seeping out of the multiple red lines criss crossing his body, arms and legs to create a small puddle around him. 

Outside the arena, Cleo watched Kurt walk slowly towards a downed Zenith, horrified of what the Nidoking would do to him. Even though she had felt some sort of attraction towards the Umbreon from the moment she entered Kingdra High, this seemed to only be Zenith's first day of noticing her. And yet, the normally shy, nervous Umbreon still willingly jumped into a battle just to try and stop Kurt from insulting her. She wanted to jump into the fight right now, to try and help, but the thought of having so many eyes on her rooted her to the ground. Hating her timidness, the most she could muster was a soft whisper, the words unheard to even those around her but still full of emotion. 

“Come on, Zenith. Get up. I believe in you.”

Even though Kurt looked tough as he neared Zenith, close enough, Zenith found that the Nidoking was not that different from him. Even though he was not as injured as the Umbreon, Kurt was in the same situation as Zenith, chest heaving heavily as well. A large amount of energy was put into the Earthquake, and a lot of energy was exerted through stomping and hitting the heavy rocks. Although Zenith was unaware, unable to see through Kurt’s tough facade, the Nidoking’s health was low as well, the Umbreon’s attacks actually doing massive damage even through his tough, armored skin. The two Pokemon had taken a lot of damage from one another, and were tired. If any of them were to take another direct attack, the other would win. Realising this, Kurt pushed his exhaustion to the corner of his mind, pushing towards Zenith, the phrase repeating in his head so much that it was basically his mantra by now.

_**KILL THE SHINY.** _

_**KILL THE SHINY.** _

Coating his claw in a purple glow, Kurt sliced downwards towards Zenith, trying to finish him off with a Poison Jab. 

But just as the claw was about to hit its target, it was stopped mid-swipe. Confused, Kurt looked down to see all of Zenith’s four paws pushing against his claws, holding back its deadly advance. Kurt tried to attack with his other hand, but he was so exhausted that it was needed as support, pressed against the ground to prevent him from toppling. 

The two Pokemon seemed to be at an impasse, but not for long. 

Zenith strained as Kurt started to lean on him, barely able to suppress the slowly crushing force that was his enemy’s body mass. His muscles ached and screamed out in pain as they bore the strain of the weight. He might have a bit more energy than his opponent, but he wouldn’t be able to last much longer if this kept up. His back, slick with a mixture of sweat and blood, was slowly sliding backwards against the broken arena floor. Zenith gritted his teeth as more stones dug deeper into his flesh, grit and gravel entering widened wounds, the pain stinging and unbearable, racking his body in spasms. He looked up, and immediately regretted his decision, the image of Kurt’s leering face now unforgettable by his mind. 

His limbs bent another inch, tiring, and Kurt’s claw moved closer. Looking away, Zenith’s eyes scanned the crowd, darting around fervently. Were these the Pokemon who were going to watch him meet his end? A now seemingly inevitable demise, as his struggle to keep Kurt at bay increasing in difficulty with each passing second? The faces of his classmates were a blur as he skimmed over them, only one worried face standing out from the rest. 

_Cleo. Of course it would be Cleo._

Timid like him, but possessing an impulsive side he did not share, the Vaporeon had shown up today morning to save his ass from being kicked by Kurt. And now here he was, in some cruel ironic twist of fate, his ass was being kicked by Kurt again. Why did he even challenge the Nidoking in the first place? A moral obligation to defend her from insults? To try and repay her good deed earlier? A stronger, emotional reason that he could not make out? Whatever it was, Zenith couldn’t bear to imagine the look on Cleo’s face as he was being beaten into mincemeat by the waste of space that he was trying his hardest to hold back. 

_I can’t let Cleo down._

_I WON’T let Cleo down!_

_I WILL NOT LOSE!_

**Well, that escalated quickly.**

With these thoughts came a sudden burst of energy, coursing through and rejuvenating his fatigued limbs. He had no idea where it came from, he had been totally drained from the fight, but he wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste. 

Kurt had a wide grin on his face as he continued to lean on Zenith. He was sure that he would win. The Umbreon beneath him was too weak to throw him off and would be crushed under his weight, ending the Shiny’s pitiful life and crowning him the winner.

"No fish-dog here to save your pelt this time, freak," Kurt whispered menacingly into Zenith's ear. Zenith stiffened upon hearing those words, and struggled to push his anger down to maintain his defeated facade. He needed all his strength to seize this moment properly, and he would not let rash actions caused by anger ruin it. It was now or never.

Pushing with all his might, Zenith managed to heave the heavy claws upwards. They hung in the air for a fraction of a second before slamming downwards again, leaving Zenith barely enough time to roll out of the way, back into a standing position. He ignored the pain. There was no time to lose as Kurt looked around, stunned by the sudden turn of the tables. Zenith’s flank was pressed against the wall of the arena, the Umbreon distancing himself as far as possible from his opponent, getting ready to put all he had into this one move. 

Kurt had gotten over the surprise of the Shiny slipping away from his grasp once more, the emotion turning back into fury as he detected Zenith’s dark shape standing out against the pale blue walls. Kurt noticed a small white ball of pure energy forming in Zenith’s mouth, slowly increasing in size. Recognising the move, Kurt charged at Zenith, horn glowing green again as he tried to finish him off first. However, as he neared, he knew that he had no time to accomplish her objective. The Nidoking's eyes widened in fear, but he couldn’t stop himself, body already committed to the motion of rushing into his own failure. 

As the move was unleashed, and Kurt was engulfed in the bright light, he could hear Zenith mutter some words. 

“Don’t ever disrespect Cleo or me ever again.”


	10. Chapter 10

**NSO Chapter 10**

I don’t own Pokemon. 

* * *

The beam of pure white energy shot out of the sphere in Zenith’s mouth. It struck the charging Kurt point-blank in his chest, engulfing the Nidoking in its blinding glow. Being too weak to withstand an attack of such intensity, Kurt was blasted off his feet, flying through the air at dizzying speeds as he was propelled by the speed and force of the Hyper Beam. He slammed into the domed shield that surrounded the arena and stayed there, body pinned and unable to move as the light continued to blast onto him. Zenith didn’t stop, going all out as he continued to blast Kurt, the beam growing thicker and increasing in power. The blue translucent hexagons that made up the arena dome started to glow brighter as more pressure was applied on them.

With an ear-piercing sound of glass breaking, the shield dissipated, unable to withstand the immense power focused on it. When the arena walls broke, the pent-up energy from the Hyper Beam was released, spreading outwards in an explosion of white light, causing everyone in the Battle Room to either shield their eyes or look away. A large ‘thud’ seemed to reverberate throughout the entire room as everyone averted their eyes from the flash, accompanied by a shake of the floor. When the flash had faded from everyone’s vision, they looked back to be met with a strange sight: Kurt was stuck in the wall, back deeply embedded within the thick concrete. His arms flailed wildly as he tried to dislodge himself, but were too short to reach out and grab the sides of the hole he had made. While everyone was fussing about how to get Kurt out of the hole, Cleo turned to look at the Battle Arena. Mrs Sal was already by Zenith’s side. The Umbreon was sitting in the same place he had launched his move, chest heaving as he took in deep breaths. His body wavered like a dying flame as blood continuously pooled from his wounds. There was also an acrid stench of burning that hung around him, along with smoke rising off his body. Zenith could feel himself steaming, body almost hot to the touch as he panted heavily. He had really gone all out with such a powerful attack when he was so weak, nearly burning himself up in the process. Mrs Sal gestured to an unopened bottle of water sitting on the control panel of the battle arena, which Cleo quickly handed over to the teacher.

“Drink this, Zenith. You’ll feel better.”

The Umbreon took the bottle gratefully and gulped its contents down, the fluid soothing his parched throat. As he drank the water, he could feel himself slowly getting better, his wounds hurting a bit less than before. The rivers of blood flowing down his flanks were reduced to slow trickles, and Zenith no longer felt like collapsing into an exhausted, smoking, bleeding heap. Turning the empty plastic bottle in his paws, he could see the words “Fresh Water’ written on the label.

“Okay, Zenith. Now let’s get you to-”

The pair turned towards the wall of the battle arena as a gasp resounded throughout the Battle Room. Kurt had finally been pulled out of the hole in the wall with the combined efforts of his Psychic-type classmates. He was surrounded in a pink glow of multiple Psychics, but one thing could be seen very clearly: his eyes were spirals, the shape of a Poliwag’s belly as they spun in opposite directions. An odd silence settled over the class as they realised what this meant. Kurt had fainted, so the winner of the match was…

One by one, classmates turned to stare at the Umbreon, which was being helped to his paws by Mrs. Sal and Cleo. Feeling the piercing gaze of so many Pokemon on him, Zenith stopped in his tracks, shifting his paws uncomfortably as Cleo ushered him forwards. 

_**“WHAT HAPPENED HERE?”** _

Zenith stopped once again as the double doors of the Battle Arena were slammed open, nearly hitting his snout. The few students who were still talking with each other fell silent as a Raikou stormed into the room, followed by a Suicune, who stepped through the hole in the wall, surveying the surroundings. Principal Suicune was one of the nicest and most lenient teachers in the school, while Vice-Principal Raikou was the polar opposite. He doubled as the discipline master of Kingdra High, and took his job very seriously. They always seemed to balance each other out, with Raikou dishing out harsh punishments and Suicune dialling back the severeness.

As Raikou’s gaze travelled around the Battle Room, Zenith could feel Cleo stiffen beside him, an involuntary flinch from the fierce look. Zenith could feel the beady red eyes finally land on him, taking in his battered body. 

_**“Umbreon, detention! For not keeping your battles within the arenas and destroying school property!”** _

Zenith’s head was spinning, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the blood lost or from the incredulity of the reason for his punishment.

_Since when was trying to avoid death from a ‘Shiny’-hating Nidoking a punishable offence?_

The Raikou looked like he was going to continue shouting, but was cut off by a thin, white tail placed upon his mouth, which quickly closed. Suicune was suddenly beside Raikou, giving Zenith an apologetic smile, while speaking to her colleague in a resigned, but endearing tone. “Hold on, Raikou. We don’t know if that’s true or not. Mrs Sal, would you like to clear up the situation?”

“Sure,” Zenith wasn’t sure, but the Salamence seemed to flash a quick, dirty look at Raikou before speaking. “Both Kurt and zenith were battling in the arena, but the Hyper Beam that Zenith made was too powerful for our shields to handle, and broke the wall. All these are minor damages and can be easily repaired by tomorrow. But I’ll be sending Zenith and Kurt to the infirmary to be patched up, both escorted by a classmate.” With a hint of finality in her voice, Mrs Sal signalled for Raikou to step out of the doorway, allowing Cleo to support Zenith as they moved off towards the infirmary. A Kadabra exited the room next, using Psychic to lift Kurt in midair behind him.

When the four students had left, Mrs Sal turned towards the rest of the class, silently dismissing them early by flicking her tail towards the large double doors. Never wanting to remain in the presence of both principals, the Battle Room emptied quickly, until the only Pokemon remaining were the three teachers.

“Mr. Raikou, sir,” Mrs Sal pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke. “With all due respect, you do have to stop accusing my students of things they didn't do. I have everything here under contro-”

“Except you did not, Mrs Sal. Those two students, especially that Umbreon, seems to be hurt pretty badly. I know your avid love of battling, but you’re a teacher. The safety of students is your top priority. Why didn’t you stop the fight before it got out of hand?” Suicune spoke to each teacher in turn. Her voice was still light, but had an edge of steel instead of the usual softness. “And Raikou, didn’t I remind you countless times to try and think first before speaking? Analyse, ask _**THEN**_ answer!” Both Pokemon seemed to cower before the blue Legendary, heads bowed apologetically as her voice rose in volume.

“Well, at least there seems to be no lasting damage. The wall and equipment can be easily repaired, and Ms Chua can fix those two back up to full health. She’s a miracle worker, that Chansey.” Like a flip of a switch, the ominous aura that had hung around Principal Suicune vanished. She gestured with her ribbon-like tails for Raikou as she walked out of the room, looking back with a warm smile. “Why not take a little break for about five minutes, Mrs Sal? I’ll make sure that everything’s back to normal when you return for your next class.” 

The Salamence sighed as both Pokemon rounded the corner to their office, while she went in the other direction of the staff lounge. She would never understand the mysteries of Legendaries, but as long as they worked, she didn’t mind. She had wanted to tell Principal Suicune earlier, but after the chewing out she hadn’t dared to push the envelope on the subject of battling. But in her eighteen years of teaching, she had seen all sorts of battles, from quick knockouts to long, tedious fights, but never one this intense, or a Pokemon in this school that had shown off that much skill and technique. He had even managed to break through the arena walls, which were the best in their line so far. She had to keep an eye on him.

“Come on, Zenith. We’re almost there.”

Zenith staggered through the halls, leaning on Cleo for support while conversing with Dialga in his head.

_Okay, now that I know who you are, mind telling me why Legendaries are heads of this school? I’ve been wondering that for a while now._

**Just because we’re Legendaries doesn’t mean that we can’t lead normal lives. It’s a waste of our immortality if we do nothing all day. Some Legendaries like to come down to your mortal realm, enjoy a ‘normal’ life.**

_Then why don’t you try having a normal life too?_

**Can you imagine the God of Time applying for a job, or walking around in your neighbourhood? Besides, connecting to your life is better any day.**

“Here we are, the infirmary.”


	11. Chapter 11

NSO Chapter 11

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Cleo pushed open the infirmary door, holding it there as Zenith staggered through, clutching his side. She didn't know what was wrong with Zenith, but she knew that it was causing him so much pain that the only thing he could do right now was just focus on walking and not passing out. Judging from the way he collapsed on the blue plush seats of the waiting room, face planted between the cushions, it seemed to be getting worse. For a brief moment, the Vaporeon considered slamming the door in the Kadabra's face as he walked in but suppressed the devilish instinct. The Psychic-type walked through the still-open doorway, lounging on the seats next to Zenith, not caring about the Umbreon. He picked up a magazine from a nearby table and flipped through it lazily, an unconscious Kurt still floating beside him, held up by Psychic. Seeing how the Kadabra was in no rush, and Zenith's pained expression as he continued pressing his sides, Cleo quickly entered the room, careful not to shut the door on her tail. Lifting most of Zenith over her shoulders, she supported the injured Umbreon through another set of double doors into the nurse's office.

Stepping into the large, white-walled room, Cleo could see a huge difference in this Kingdra High's infirmary and the one back in her previous school. The entire room was completely devoid of any type of counters or cupboards to store medicine or first aid equipment in. The walls were completely bare, and so was the room, save for a small first aid kit lying against the wall, and a lone dentist-like chair contraption in the middle of the room. Instead of the many Chanseys and Blisseys that bustled around the sickbay in her previous school, there was just one Pokemon, a small pink cat that was laying on the 'chair', a long tail curled around its body. It seemed to be asleep, but one of its ears pricked up as it heard the doors swing shut, turning to face the new patients.

Despite herself, Cleo couldn't hold back an excited squeal when she realised who the Pokemon was, but for Zenith's reaction was more of a confused grunt. His mind was fuzzy with pain, but he felt a mild ripple of surprise at the sight of the Legendary. He was sure that the nurse in this school was a Chansey, not another Legendary.

So what… is Mew doing… here?

If Dialga had replied, Zenith couldn't hear it. He had no idea what was causing the pain that was filling, clouding his mind, only that it was coming from deep within his side. A constant, throbbing pain that hurt with every movement. Mew's mouth was moving, but unlike Cleo, who seemed to be listening attentively, he could hear nothing. Coupled with his fatigued condition after the fight, Zenith couldn't hold on to consciousness any longer, succumbing to the pain and passing out.

"Um… I think Zenith really needs treatment. Now." Cleo interrupted Mew's steady staccato rhythm of words as she the weight on her back grow heavier, the Umbreon no longer partially holding himself up.

"Right. Let's get to it." Using Psychic, Mew enveloped Zenith in a translucent pink glow, lifting his body from the tiled floor while the Legendary pressed a button on the chair, making the chair recline backwards to form a table. Zenith's limp body was placed on the flat surface, while Mew rummaged around in the compartments lining the sides of the chair-table. The pink cat took out something that looked like a temperature scanner, but slightly larger and more advanced. Using it, Mew gave Zenith an ear to tail scan, the thin line of light from the scanner temporarily bathing the Umbreon in a sweeping dark blue light.

The light retracted back into the scanner, and Cleo noticed that the bottom of the scanner's handle was connected to the table-chair. A projector retracted down from the ceiling, displaying a translucent three-dimensional hologram of Zenith exactly above where the Eeveelution lay. Floating in the air, Mew swiped on the hologram, removing Zenith's fur so that all of his muscles, bones and internal organs could be seen. Cleo's jaw dropped as she marvelled at the cutting-edge technology available in this school, but winced as she saw all the torn flesh, how deep some of the cuts actually reached., and how many injuries there were. It must have been torturous for Zenith to last through the remainder of the fight, much less even walk here with only partial help.

Mew enlarged the hologram so that she could inspect them in greater detail. "I noticed he was holding his….right flank, was it? Let's see what's wrong with him." With another touch on the hologram, Layer after layer of muscle disappeared until a foreign object was highlighted in a red outline. "Aha!" Mew exclaimed, gesturing the red object closer to herself. It was a stone, extremely small in size but jagged and pointy. Zooming back out, Cleo could see on the hologram that the rock fragment had dug a long, deep hole into Zenith's flesh and muscle. It was so deep that the rock narrowly touched Zenith's lungs.

"This stone's the problem. Every movement Zenith made must have been driving the stone further into his body. It's good that he got here before it punctured his lungs. That would've been hard to fix up."

"But you can heal Zenith, right?" Cleo looked back at the Umbreon worriedly. The Umbreon's breathing was shallow and ragged as he fell deeper into unconsciousness.

"Well, I can remove the stone using my psychic powers, but the unfortunate part is that it's going to hurt a lot for Zenith. I'll apply anaesthetics, but none we have on paw are strong enough to dull the pain completely. I'm afraid that he has to grit his teeth and get through the rest of the pain himself." A few injections later, and Zenith's breathing was deeper than before. Eyes glowing a dark purple, Mew activated her psychic powers, carefully dragging the fragment of rock out of the tunnel that it had created. Meanwhile, Cleo watched Mew's progress on the hologram.

Zenith, who had been slumbering in his unconscious, anaesthetised state, was jerked back into the waking world by the pain. The pain was increasing in intensity, so strong that it was almost radiating from his midsection. Although every part of his body was screaming at him to run, to escape the room, to escape the pain, Zenith still restrained himself, repeating a thought even as his body twitched reflexively in response to the pain.

_Stay... still. Mew can... help you._

"Cleo! He's awake! Make sure he doesn't move. We don't want the rock piercing anything important."

No time to reply. Cleo started to secrete water from her palms again, and also caused the water vapour in the air to condense into droplets on her cool skin. In a few seconds, Cleo had amassed a large amount of water, which floated in midair. Using her paw, she guided the water over Zenith's body, draping it over his arms and legs like a blanket, leaving his head free to breathe and a hole in the water over his flank so the rock could be extracted. Cleo increased the pressure of the water acting on the Umbreon, effectively immobilising his limbs and preventing Zenith from moving too much. As an afterthought, Cleo took a cushion from the waiting room and placed it between the Zenith's jaws, so that he could bite down on it instead of screaming and disrupting Mew's concentration.

She just hoped that it would be over quickly.

It was, the entire operation only took a minute.

But it was the most painful sixty seconds Zenith had ever experienced.

Deep within his consciousness, Zenith knew that Mew was trying to get the fragment out as fast and as painlessly as the Legendary could, but the latter seemed to be impossible. It felt like his flank was on fire, Mew unable to cushion the points of the stone from scraping on more of his sensitive flesh as it was forcefully pulled out of his body. His flank burned with fierce pain, and he bit down hard on the pillow, pushing down the urge to yell.

_Come… on… Zenith. Think on the… bright side._

_… At least Mew's psychic powers prevent the rock from… breaking off into smaller pieces that might embed themselves into... my... flesh and cause... me... more... pain…_

**Wow. Even your optimistic thoughts include- wait. Zenith. Our connection is weakening. I'm breaking u-**

As the voice of Dialga cut off, so did the last bits of rational thought, draining out of Zenith's mind only to be replaced with pain. It flooded his mind, overwhelmed and overloaded his mental systems, wiping out all forms of civilised action and self-control, leaving an emotion remaining in Zenith.

Fear. This single, pure emotion awakened a primal instinct in Zenith to respond to the Umbreon's pain.

Fight or flight.

And Zenith, being Zenith, decided to go with both.

Only half a second had passed. Mew was almost done with the extraction, but that was when things started to go wrong. With his eyes squeezed shut, there was a sound of ripping fabric, followed by a cloud of white stuffing exploding all over Zenith's face. He had bitten through the pillow, his sharp canine teeth tearing huge holes in the soft material. Zenith began to shake his head from side to side vigorously, tossing the leaking pillow around and sending Swanna down everywhere. As Cleo rushed to his side, trying to calm him down, she noticed that Zenith's eyes were open again, but they weren't filled with their usual calm and timid composure. Instead, she could recognise two primal feelings that were similar to the Pokemon she had watched in nature documentaries, the ones found in cornered prey.

Fear and angry determination.

Zenith tried to escape from the chair, but couldn't move his limbs as Cleo pushed down on the water on his body, applying more pressure on his limbs. Flight was no longer an option. Guess it was time for the other first.

With a swing of the head, Zenith threw the cushion in his jaws at Cleo, the pillow exploding in a cloud of feathers. Surprised, Cleo brought her paws from the water to her face, swatting away the stuffing in her face. With Cleo's attention momentarily gone, Zenith could feel the strong pressure on his body weaken. Seizing the chance, the Umbreon swung his head a second time, smashing into Cleo's side. The Vaporeon, caught unaware, staggered and fell to the ground, winded, but now her concentration was broken.

Without Cleo'scontrol, the water slid off Zenith's body or clung to his fur in droplets. He rose to stand on the chair-table, two Dark Pulses charging up in his paws. Now conscious, all of Mew's psychic-type attempts to restrain the Dark-type were ineffective as he shrugged them off, and the Legendary had to take drastic measures. Floating around Zenith as the Umbreon glanced around the room frantically, Mew took hold of the rock shard again, and yanked it out of Zenith's side in a final, desperate tug. The small, red rock shot out from Zenith's flank like a bullet, trailing small blood droplets as it smashed into the green wall. The speed of which the stone was pulled out of Zenith's body increased the friction between the rock and his flesh, the pain causing him to let out a guttural roar. Fear and anger were fully controlling his thought processes now. Mew was causing him pain. Cleo was preventing him from escaping pain. Both had to be gone. As Zenith slammed his paws downwards, Mew quickly set up a Light Screen around the Umbreon. She picked up a groaning Cleo, and with her back towards Zenith, the pink cat wrapped her entire body and tail around the Vaporeon, bracing for the worst.

Dual Dark shockwaves shot out from beneath Zenith's paws, the Light Screen taking the brunt of the explosions and disappeared like the arena shields from before. The first shockwave threw both Female Pokemon into the infirmary wall, and the second was so strong that it pushed them further into the wall before dissipating. Tumbling through the air, Mew held on to Cleo tightly as they flipped through the air, the Legendary maneuvering herself to slam her pink back against the wall, cushioning the impact for Cleo. There was a flump as Zenith's legs gave out under him, the Umbreon falling to his knees and slumping over on the table-chair in exhaustion. Mew laid Cleo down on the floor gently and flew over to Zenith. The Umbreon was lying face down on the table-chair, panting heavily from the exertion of two powerful moves. He had passed out once more, and his multiple wounds had reopened again, the Umbreon bleeding out all over the flat, cushioned surface. Sighing, Mew started to direct a Heal Pulse on Zenith's wounds, smiling in satisfaction as she watched them close up, leaving thin white scars that disappeared under the growing of black fur. Cleo stared at the scene in front of her, still in shock at the sudden things that had happened in the short time span of a few seconds. Her sides and back still hurt from the attacks, and the Vaporeon decided to stay where she was until felt better.

**-Five minutes later-**

Zenith sat up groggily. Looking around, he realised that he was still on the chair-table in the nurse's room, with Mew staring at him expectantly.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake!" Mew was the first one to speak, floating around Zenith to inspect her handiwork.

"What now, Mew? What's the prognosis?" The pain in his side had eased, but Zenith now had a headache and was rubbing his noggin, trying to rid himself of the slight pain.

"Well, the operation was a success. The rock causing you so much pain is gone, and your wounds are healed, but there is a… slight problem."

"Besides me going crazy and attacking you halfway through the operation?"

"Yeah, that, and the pain you experienced. If I could describe the pain you felt, it would be like your insides were being blowtorched while several barbed fishing hooks were being dragged upwards towards through your flesh, which was being set on fire." As the Legendary spoke, an involuntary shudder ran through Zenith's body. He could definitely remember the pain.

"Your developing pain receptors were overloaded by the large amount of pain you felt during the operations and are permanently damaged now. In short, you won't be feeling as much pain as you should be, although I don't know if that's good or not."

If this news hit Zenith like a sledgehammer, he didn't feel it.

"So this means that my body isn't invulnerable to injuries, it's just… partially pain proof?"

"That's one way of putting it."

"Okay then. At least I'm somewhat better now. Thanks, Mew!" Zenith leapt down from the table-chair, stretching his numb, asleep limbs to get them back in working order before realising something. "Hey, where's Cleo?"

"Um.."

_**-Flashback-** _

Cleo got back to her feet. The pain in her side and back had now faded to a dull ache and it didn't hurt to move anymore. She padded over to the table-chair, where Zenith was snoring softly. Mew, noticing this, floated over and told her to get back to class.

"Why?"

"Zenith's the one that's severely injured, not you. Don't worry, it's my duty to take good care of him. You, on the other hand, are a student and a new one at that. It's your duty to learn, especially with the upcoming End Of Year examinations next term. I can see in your mind that it's now your Science lesson, and your teacher is... Mr Simon? Lucky. He's a good teacher. His lessons are always interesting. Get back to class now, Cleo. When Zenith wakes up, I'll send him back to class, or if he hasn't woken up yet, you can visit him during recess. Either way, you'll still get to see him."

Cleo couldn't argue with that. The mind-reading Mew had come up with a counterargument for every statement that had appeared in her head. Sighing, she ruffled the fur on Zenith's head and left the infirmary.

_**-Flashback End-** _

Mew looked back at Zenith, who was smoothing down the ruffled fur on his head as he waited for an answer.

"I asked her to go back to class. As for you, your wound is completely healed and you're well-rested. You may leave the infirmary now. If I remember right, it's your recess time, and Cleo will be coming to look for you."

"Thanks, Mew... for everything."

"Good luck, Zenith, you're going to need it." The pink cat murmured under her breath.

As the double doors swung shut behind him, Zenith noticed the Kadabra still sitting in the waiting room, reading the same magazine. As he passed the Psychic-type, they made eye contact, the Umbreon gesturing back at the nurse's office in which he came from, signalling that it was Kurt's turn to be treated.

"Oh, Jake. It's you. Did Kurt get injured again?"

"Yeah, Ms Chua. But this time, I think he got hurt real bad." The Kadabra took in the familiar sight of the nurse's office, with its drawers and closets filled with medicine and first aid equipment, a row of beds lining the blue-tiled walls. along with the smell. He could never forget the medical smell of this room. And the most memorable part of this room was…

"That's what you always say. Come, let me take a look at him." Putting on her stethoscope, the white coat clad Chansey placed the medical instrument on Kurt's chest, giving him a check over before healing his wounds. The solo routine Ms Chua had been doing for all patients that had entered her office.

Just like she had been doing for the past four years.


	12. Chapter 12

**NSO Chapter 12**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

Zenith took one step out of the infirmary and almost collided with Cleo, who was standing directly outside the double doors.

“Um… yeah. Let’s go to the canteen first. There’s enough time to walk and talk.”

“Sure. I think I forgot where the canteen actually is. This school is huge.”

Zenith had a small smile on his face as he sympathised with Cleo, chatting with her while they navigated the hallways. He had felt the same sense of foreignness when he first entered the school. There were no maps whatsoever in the building, save for a few signs. This meant that new students had to either ask other, older students for help or just stumble around blindly. Unwilling to do both, Zenith just came to school in the early hours of the weekday to explore the entire layout of Kingdra High and map it into his memory.

**Wow. I remember that. No other choice, huh?**

_Hey. Looks like you’re back. Where did you go?_

**It looks like I… got disconnected from your brain. I guess your pain forced me out when reverting back to your primal forms of thinking. I just… rebooted the system… and here I am.**

_Oh._

By this point, Zenith had finished filling Cleo in on what Mew had told him, and the both were now walking in silence, with Zenith leading the way to the canteen.

“So, about your pain receptors… do you think that it’s a good or a bad thing?”

Upon hearing the question, Zenith furrowed his brows, so deep in thought that he almost walked into a wall had Cleo not steered him away. He walked through the winding hallways with Cleo by his side, pondering the question before stopping, an uncertain answer in his mind.

" I guess it allows me to take more hits if I have to, but I don't see a situation where I do have to. I worry that this condition would have more negative effects than good ones."

"So... you're panicking about potential partially pain-proof problems?"

Zenith sighed while Cleo grinned at her bad joke, and they resumed their walk.

“Sorry."

"It’s fine. But I mean, nothing about my body has changed. I'm not invulnerable to damage at all. I'll still be me, but I can't feel as much pain as before. But what if my body gets an injury, and I can't feel it? I won't know where the wound is, and I might die if I can't treat it! What if-"

Zenith was interrupted by Cleo bumping into his flank, causing him to stumble slightly and break off from his frantic rambling.

“Hey, Zenith. Calm down.” The two of them had stopped for a second time, with Cleo smoothing down Zenith’s ruffled back fur, which had stood up in his worry-filled rant. “You don't know how much pain will be numbed, and you probably shouldn't have to find out. And if you do get hurt, you can always count on Mew to patch you up! So just chill out, and try to live your life like the one you had before: normal and panic free!”

Cleo’s peppy enthusiasm and optimism were infectious, and Zenith could feel his worries slowly melting away as the hints of a smile started to appear on his face. 

“I guess you’re right. You know, Cleo, I realised that I’ve never properly thanked you for… everything that happened today. I doubt I would have even survived until now if you weren’t here.” Cleo blushed. “You flatter me, Zenith. Oh, look. We’re here!” The duo had reached another set of double doors, the entrance to the canteen. The sounds of hustle and bustle could be heard as Pokemon bought and ate their food. Zenith turned back to Cleo, but she had already left his side to join one of the queues at a shop called 'Seafood Spectacular'. Sighing, he padded over to a nearby vending machine.

**If it’s any consolation, I can monitor your vital signs using the PLC.**

_Perhaps you meddling in my life isn’t that bad after all._

Taking out the five-dollar bill from the wallet in his utility belt, Zenith pushed it into the bill slot on the vending machine and punched in a code. There was a soft whirring as well the machine dispensed his chosen item, followed by a ‘thunk’ as it hit the bottom. Collecting his change, Zenith pushed open the bottom flap to get his strawberry flavoured Moomoo milk, with a Pokebean attached to the bottle. Making his way over to an empty table, Zenith began to free the Pokebean from its opaque wrapper, reading it to distract himself from the many curious gazes being pointed in his direction. 

**What type of Pokebean will you get today?**

**Plain- 74%**

**Striped- 23%**

**Rainbow- 3%**

**Eat a Pokebean, and allow your day to be EXTRAORDINARY!***

_*Pokebeans do not guarantee an extraordinary day._

While Zenith was eating his Plain bean, relishing its dark chocolatey flavour, Cleo had come over with her recently purchased meal- a whole Magikarp clamped between her jaws. Zenith had never bought anything from Seafood Spectacular, his diet at school consisted entirely of Pokebeans, but from the looks of confusion and surprise on other Pokemon’s faces, he could guess that Cleo’s order wasn’t a popularly picked option on the menu. Oblivious to the judging looks, she devoured the large fish in swift, rapid bites, spitting out bones to one side in a neat pile. Zenith noticed that Cleo seemed to naturally absorb the water from the Magikarp as she ate, so the remains of her food were bone dry. 

As Cleo searched the canteen for a napkin, Zenith picked a bone out from the pile. Unlike the other tough tissues, it was smooth and flexible, shaped like a spring with the properties of one. This bone seemed to be the reason why Magikarp could jump to such high heights. He decided to keep the small bone in one of the pockets of his utility belt, earning an appraising look from Cleo, but she didn’t question his actions. Downing the rest of his strawberry milk, Zenith followed the Vaporeon to dispose of their trash before heading back to their classroom.

“Hey, Zenith. So...I have to fetch my little brother from his school after class. Do… would… you… like to come along? You… can even visit my home… if… you… want?”

“Um… sure.”

“Sweet!” An expression of relief washed over Cleo’s face.

I wonder what kind of house she lives in.

Math class was taught by Mr Gon, a Porygon Z. He was one of the school’s best teachers, a Porygon sent to Kingdra High with specific programming to teach students. But then there was the latest ‘Dubious Disk’ crisis, a Porygon-wide upgrade gone wrong. The upgrades from 2s to Zs worked great at first, increasing the processing power and efficiency of the Porygons, but had an unintended side effect of random bugs and glitches occurring. Mr Gon was able to teach better classes, but tended to glitch out and do inexplicable things, causing his class to be cancelled temporarily. With still no available repairs to the bugs, all anyone could do was wait until the abnormalities ceased.

The last hour of school seemed to pass faster than usual, in a more literal sense. The math class was progressing at its usual rapid pace, leaving students to frantically copy down notes. However, the hands of the wall clock seemed to be moving faster, and so were the numbers on the digital clock on Mr Gon’s desk. The Porygon Z had barely gone through seven questions when the bell started to ring, signalling the end of his class. With a beep of annoyance, Mr Gon left the classroom, snatching up his clock on the way. 

_Okay, Dialga. What did you do?_

**I sped up the flow of time in your classroom.**

_That’s so cool and wrong at the same time. Why would you do that? I need my education!_

**Oh, please. What else is there to learn? All this is just revision for exams next term, and you already know everything. Now hurry up, Cleo’s waiting for you!**

Indeed the Vaporeon was. She was standing by the classroom door, a bemused and amused expression on her face. Zenith wondered how he looked when he was communicating with Dialga in his head.

_I see what you’re doing._

**It’s rude to keep a lady waiting, you know.**

Sighing mentally in defeat, the Umbreon padded over to Cleo, letting her lead the way to her brother’s school.

It was a fifteen-minute walk to Wailmer Primary School. Since the classes of primary schools ended much earlier than high schools, most of the young students had already gone home. The large building was quiet, save for the sound of the wind rustling the grass of the school field, which was in front of the school itself. 

Standing at the large school gate, Cleo shouted in the direction of the school field," Leaf! Hey, Leaf! It's Cleo! Time to go home!" Meanwhile, Zenith was scanning the windows of the school.

_I wonder who the principal of this school is._

The Umbreon was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the rustling coming from the field that was heading in his direction. He heard Cleo shout his name, in some sort of warning, but it was too late for that. The small Eeveelution had already jumped out at him and was still travelling very slowly through the air thanks to Dialga’s time powers. Realising that this Pokemon had to be Cleo’s brother, Zenith positioned himself so that his ‘attacker’ would land on his back. He bent his legs, tensing his muscles, preparing for the upcoming weight. 

Time resumed its normal flow, with the Leafeon landing squarely on Zenith’s back, beating on it as he clung there. 

“Take that! And that! Stay away from my sister!”

With his partially pain-proof condition, the normally painful whacks that Zenith was receiving were reduced to light taps, but he would have to address the marks they left behind later. 

“Leaf! Leaf! Stop! Zenith’s my friend!” Cleo ran over, pulling her younger brother off Zenith, the Leafeon’s legs flailing as he tried and failed to stay on the Umbreon’s back. 

“Okay, okay sis. Also, I thought I told you to stop calling me Leaf! My name is Cliff!” Cliff protested indignantly as his sister set him down on the sidewalk. “And why is he here anyways?”

“I don't think so. It's a good nickname, and it matches who you are very well. And Zenith, uh…” Cleo’s mind was blank as she tried to think of a way to finish her sentence. Luckily, said Umbreon spoke up.

“Oh, Cleo invited me over to her house for… uh...” Zenith faltered as he ran into the same problem, but Cliff cut in before he could recover properly. 

“A play date?”

“Er…” Nervous laughter from both of the older Eeveelutions as they made several fleeting glances towards each other, blushing slightly. 

“...something like that. Come on, Cliff. Let’s go home.” Ushering the Leafeon along, the trio set off.


	13. Chapter 13

**NSO Ch 13**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

"We're here!" Cleo announced.

Zenith looked in the direction that she was pointing at and his jaw dropped. It turns out that Cleo's family had bought _the_ house. It was enormous, the size of a small mansion, but still didn't look out of place compared to all the other houses in the neighbourhood. The building was still two stories tall, but twice the width of Zenith's house. It even had a proper backyard, while all Zenith's house had was a small patch of grass which an apple tree was growing in. For years, the 'For Sale' sign had been placed on _the_ house's front lawn, with the sole, simple reason being its high cost. But now, the sign was finally gone, bought out by Cleo's family. Zenith was quite surprised at himself that he didn't notice this change earlier, with how long Cleo had moved here for.

After all, it should have been quite hard to miss something that big happen just directly opposite his own house.

There was a fence surrounding the perimeter of Cleo's house, but it seemed to have more of a decorative than a protective purpose. The wood was well-painted, white and glossy, short enough to allow Zenith to see clearly into the front lawn. There was also no latch or lock on the gate, which Cleo pushed open, gesturing to the Umbreon behind her to step through. Zenith was getting cold feet and was sneaking nervous glances back at his house. The road that separated the two buildings now seemed to be kilometres wide, and the two expecting gazes from the Eeveelutions before him seemed to root him in place, preventing him from retreating even if he wanted to. But there should be nothing for him to be nervous about, right? After all, Cleo did invite him, so what could be wrong about this? Curiosity dragged his once reluctant paws forward, and he followed the Vaporeon into the building.

The oak door creaked on its hinges as it was pushed open, and the three Pokemon entered the house, the sound of their footsteps resounding on the smooth bamboo floor. The living room was still quite sparse, consisting of just a couch, with a coffee table placed in front of it. There was a widescreen television mounted on the wall, facing the couch. The living room had two doorways, the first with a door marked 'Storeroom'. The other had no door, but Zenith could assume that it was the kitchen, given the stove, pots and pans that were visible from where he stood. There was a flight of stairs about two metres away from the entrance of the house, leading to the second level, where all the rooms and toilet probably were. Unpacked, half-opened boxes littered the floor, piling up in corners, giving the house the freshness of a family that had just moved in. Cliff immediately ran in the direction of the kitchen, where the heavenly smell of food was wafting out of.

"Mama! We're here!" The Leafeon squealed as he ran into the kitchen.

Cliff's disappearance left Zenith and Cleo alone in the living room. The silence was becoming uncomfortable, with both Pokemon shuffling their feet on the floor awkwardly as they looked around the house, trying to think of something to say.

"So… Zenith's word came out in a higher pitch than usual, surprised as he felt his jaws open and speak involuntarily.

_What are you doing?_

**Speeding things up.**

"... this is your house, huh? You know, I'm kind of curious to why you moved to this town, of all places. It's not exactly the best tow-"

Zenith forced his mouth shut before 'he' could say anymore, but if Cleo had noticed any abnormalities, she didn't ask any questions. In fact, she was relieved that Zenith had cut the extremely thick tension between the two of them.

"Well, my mom got promoted and was transferred here from her old work location. She didn't want us to feel separated, so we moved here. She works at the nearby Wailmart."

_I guess retail isn't that bad of a job… with the right choices._

"Oh. My mom works at the Servine Elevens here. The one at the edge of town. Also, do you need some help unpacking? I can come by anytime..."

"It's fine. My mom took the day off today to help us finish up with unpacking and redecoration. Um… do you want to-"

Cleo was cut off by Cliff running out of the kitchen, running between the two Pokemon and sitting down at a dining table located just outside the kitchen. A Flareon soon followed, with two plates of food on a tray balanced on her back. "Kids! Dinner's ready! Come and get i-" Her words ended abruptly when her gaze fell on the Dark-type Eeveelution that stood before her.

"Cleo, want to introduce me to your friend here?"

"Mom, this is Zenith. I met him in school today and invited him along to fetch Cliff home."

"Hello, Zenith. As you already know, I'm Cleo's mom. You can call me Janice."

"Nice to meet you, Jani… I think I'm just going to call you Mrs. Torrent, if you don't mind."

"It's fine. Would you like to stay for dinner, Zenith? I'm just glad that Cleo's finally found a new friend. It was one of my worries about moving to a new place, but look at how fast that it solved itself!"

"Sure, I guess I could stay. But dinner... this early?" Zenith scratched his head in confusion, eyes darting to a clock that was hung in the wall, showing that it was barely 5 p.m.

"About that. It's kind of like a habit. I used to work from morning to late at night, so I make heavy meals, which my kids heat up after they come back from school. It's enough to last them for the rest of the day. Any preference of food?"

"I'm fine with anything, thanks."

"Okay." Mrs Torrent sat the tray down on the dining table, and headed back into the kitchen as Cleo and Cliff started to attack their food, tearing into it with quick, ravenous bites.

**I guess speed eating runs in the family.**

Zenith was about to reply, but the scent of freshly cooked food caught the attention of his nose. He looked down at the plate Mrs Torrent had set down in front of him to see a taco. Ignoring the smell, it looked ordinary. Just a piece of what seemed to be Tauros beef and vegetables, slathered with melted cheese, all wrapped up by a corn tortilla. At least, it looked ordinary until Zenith took a bite. It was as if a tsunami of flavour had crashed down on his tongue, drowning his taste buds in its overwhelming, tantalising flavour, and leaving the Umbreon wanting more. It was one of the most delicious things that Zenith had ever eaten, and he tucked in, eager to satisfy his now growing hunger.

-30 minutes later-

"Thanks for the meal, Mrs Torrent. It was really good."

"It's nothing, Zenith. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to try and unpack these boxes and redecorate the house. I have to go to work in about 2 hours. Unfortunately, my day off only applies to the day, not the night." Mrs Torrent smiled at the small joke she had made, and padded away to start opening some boxes that were taped shut.

_Wow. It's 7 p.m. already? Time seems to just fly by, doesn't it?_

_**I didn't do anything. Just letting you know.** _

Zenith looked around the house. Mrs Torrent had taped off the stairs after bringing up many boxes to the second level, with a sign on the tape saying 'Keep Out! Changes in Progress!'. Both Cleo and Cliff were happily unpacking smaller boxes in the living room, and they didn't seem to need any additional help. Zenith could no longer find any other reason to stay, so he walked over to Cleo to say goodbye.

"Cleo? I think I'll go now. You guys seem to have everything worked out here, and I don't want to interfere with your redecorations. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I guess I could visit you then." Cleo looked downcast for a second, but seemed to pull herself together and nodded in agreement.

"How does noon sound? My big sister's coming here tomorrow at that time! I know she lives in her own apartment with her boyfriend, but I have no idea why they wanted to rent out the apartment and move here to live..."

Zenith had no idea how to reply to that. With a simple "Oh. Well, see you tomorrow!", he left Cleo to her unpacking, leaving the Torrent residence himself, closing the oak door behind him.

It took a while for Zenith to get home and to his bedroom, stomach full and mind fatigued. It was only then that he realised how tired he was. He was completely burned out from the activities he had partaken, their physical and mental toll finally starting to catch up with him. Reflecting on today, he had no idea how this day felt so long, yet so short at the same time. With all those wacky things happening to him in just one day, he hoped that it wouldn't be the start of more trouble entering his life again.

But Zenith was too exhausted to be bothered about that thought right now. Overcome with fatigue, he tossed his entire routine out of the window and flumped onto his bed, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.


	14. Chapter 14

**NSO Chapter 14**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Zenith opened his eyes, feeling the chilling surface of a stone floor pressing against his fur. Gone were the comfy blankets beneath him when he had conked out on his bed, along with his soft mattress.

"I don't think I'm at home anymore."

Pulling himself into a sitting position, Zenith surveyed his surroundings. He was lying on a circle of stone, with grassy expanses stretching out in every direction as far as the eye could see. However, all kinds of colour, from red to indigo, had been wiped from the place, leaving everything in various shades of grey, giving it a bleak, desolate atmosphere.

_I think I'm in a dream._

He waited for a witty remark from Dialga, but there was no response.

_If I'm going to find a way out of my 'dream', I guess I should start walking._

Getting to his paws, Zenith stepped off the stone circle, choosing a random direction to walk in. The further he walked, the taller the grass grew, until the blades of grass were so tall that they towered over his head, so thick that it was impossible to see more than two paces ahead of him. However, with every step forward that he took, the grass wilted under Zenith's outstretched paw, disintegrating into dust. Looking over his shoulder, Zenith realised that he had left a bare, ashen path in his wake, a dirt path completely devoid of grass.

It took the Umbreon a good amount of walking until he spotted something ahead of him that wasn't grass or dirt. It was an hourglass, hidden at the base of the grass. Two brown, circle-shaped pieces of oak wood stood out in stark contrast to the colourless world and its surroundings. The golden sand within the glass glowed brightly like a beacon, catching Zenith's eye.. Running forward, Zenith picked the hourglass up in his paws to examine it closely. With all the oddities in this place, to discover another was no surprise to Zenith by now. The sand only seemed to flow one way, slowly trickling from top to bottom in the same direction regardless of how he turned the antique. There also seemed to be more sand at the 'top' than the 'bottom', where there were only a few grains. There were also no labels or words on the hourglass, so the Umbreon had no idea what it was counting down to, except for a clue.

There was a letter 'D' carved into the wood at the 'top' of the hourglass, Zenith assumed it to be the starting letter of a word. But before he could figure it out, a cold wind suddenly started up, whipping against his face and stinging it with its unusually cold air. Another thing to note was that the grass blades were strangely still, ignoring the push of the wind. But the hourglass, which had weighed at least a few kilograms, was wrenched out of his paws by the strong gusts, soaring into the distance weightlessly. Zenith watched it fly, and the winds died down once it had floated out of his view, silence descending on the field once more as the howling of the wind left with its source.

_Well, I'd better continue walking._

Picking up his pace, Zenith continued to notice more and more strange things. The grass was starting to slant diagonally, the blades all pointing in the opposite direction he was walking in. He knew that he was in a dream, but all this strangeness was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. With this piece of information stuck in the back of his mind, Zenith's slow jog quickened into a run, the grass ahead of him already wilting and disappearing even before his paws touched the ground.

With how fast he was running, it didn't take long before Zenith noticed the grass in front of him was opening up into a circle-shaped clearing. He slowed his steps as he walked into the grass-free circle, all senses on full alert at the sudden change in ambience. This WAS his dream, after all. Anything could happen.

A sweet scent permeated the air, alerting Zenith to the middle of the clearing. There lay a single rose bush. The many leaves and stems that made up the bush were a dull grey, just like the rest of the environment, causing the only distinctive feature of the bush to stand out even more. It was a single red rose, It was beautiful, and the way every single petal was arranged made the lone flower the pinnacle of perfection. It was redder than Zenith's eye, as crimson as the colour of blood. It also seemed to be the source of the smell that had caught Zenith's attention.

Speaking of the Umbreon, a strange feeling had come over him ever since he had laid eyes on the rose. The flower seemed to capture his gaze, and he couldn't bring himself to look away. A warmth seemed to seep through Zenith's bones and body as he stared, making him feel comfortable and relaxed as if he was sitting next to a roaring fireplace. The sweet scent grew stronger and wreathed itself around him. It drew Zenith closer to the bush like a Venomoth to a flame, the Umbreon unable to get enough of the smell. Subconsciously, Zenith started to walk towards the bush slowly, his paws dragging him forward until he was directly in front of the rose.

_Rose… pretty… must… touch…_

By now, the hypnotising scent and colour of the attractive rose had already invaded Zenith's mind, dampening his senses and clouding his mind. All he could think of was how good the rose looked, how good it smelled, and how he REALLY needed to touch it. His guard down, the Umbreon raised a paw, and gently stroked a petal on the rose.

The effect was instantaneous. Stems immediately unravelled themselves from the bush and wrapped themselves around Zenith's limbs, lifting him up into the air. The thorns that covered the stems pierced through his skin, sinking into his flesh and snagging themselves on his fur, ripping out clumps of it out as they moved.

The sudden sharp pain jerked Zenith out of his daze, where he realised his predicament. The haze that once enveloped his mind dissipated as it was replaced by a thousand tiny needles of pain, piercing into every surface of him they could find. He tried to struggle, but there were too many stems, too thick to break through and too strong to overpower. More stems started to wrap themselves around Zenith's body, bringing him closer and closer to the bush, which had opened up a hole, and every inch of it was lined with thorns. Zenith winced as more thorns dug into his body, creating small, shallow puncture wounds as they refused to release their brutal hold on his flesh.

_For a dream, this feels real. But it's only a dream, right?_

Zenith looked to the left and realised that he still held the rose in his clenched paw, which he must have pulled out somehow. It looked so pure, innocent and… beautiful, but Zenith knew that it was the cause of this bush dragging him into an early, thorny grave. . However, no matter how hard he tried to let go of the red flower, some part of his brain seemed to reject the command and clung on tighter to the stem, his paw now bleeding heavier compared to the rest of his body from how hard he was gripping the stem and thorns of the rose.

The stems started to lower him down slowly into the hole in the bush, with more growing above him, hiding him from view. Now only his front paws were the only things outside the bush.

"Someone help me!" Zenith managed to cry out these three words, able to speak again, an ability that had evaded him for what seemed like eternity, along with his ability to use his moves.

A blast of water hit the rose square in its head, causing a petal to fall off and drop to the ground. The bush halted its movements, stems frozen mid-action as if stunned by the sudden attack. As if or on purpose or by accident, the stems had grown in a way that formed a peephole, allowing Zenith to look out of the rose bush, and another flower entered his field of vision. It was a water lily, as blue as the sky. For some reason, through all his panicking, a small part of Zenith trusted the lily, trusting it to help him out of this mess. Desperate, Zenith made a grab for the lily, his paw grabbing onto its waxy stem. With a swift yank, the blue flower pulled Zenith upwards, the Umbreon feeling the rose slip out of his left paw.

Zenith sat up on his bed sharply, as if the momentum in his dream had carried over into reality. He glanced back at his sweat-stained sheets and heaved a sigh of relief. The dream was nothing but a dream, none of it was real. He was safe, untouchable from killer rose bushes here in the waking world. Looking at his bedside clock, Zenith realised that he had only slept for a few hours, and it would be a few more before the sun rose again. After a few more tosses and turns on the bed, Zenith gave up all attempts at sleep. The dream was just too vivid, seemed too real to try and fall back asleep, lest he encounter something similar again.

But as Zenith leapt off his bed, he yelped in surprise as his left paw suddenly stung at the pressure that was placed on it. Upon closer inspection, Zenith noticed that there were many small wounds in his palm, oozing minuscule droplets of blood. They seemed to be…

_Thorn wounds. This shouldn't be possible. That was no ordinary dream. Could it have been a vision? But that would mean that everything in my 'vision' must have a meaning to it._

Zenith racked his brain, trying to remember the details of his 'vision', but everything that he could recall made no sense to him. The fact that the details were already fading from his memory didn't help either.

_Grass wilting…_

_Hourglass with a 'D' on it..._

_A rose that looks and smells nice..._

_Thorny rose bush trying to kill me because I touched the rose..._

_A blue water lily saving me..._

_Well, I can't make much sense of this, but I guess only time will tell._

**Hey, you're finally awake. What did I miss?**

_Nothing._

**Had a nice rest? Good dreams?**

… _.no. I'm going to make breakfast._


	15. Chapter 15

**NSO Chapter 15**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Zenith made his way into the kitchen, where his mother sat on a chair at the nearby dining table, drinking a cup of steaming coffee. Zenith's mom was an Espeon called Kelli Schroff. She made Zenith adopt her surname as his own, immediately dropping her late husband's after he passed on. She worked at the Servine Elevens located at the edge of town, mostly working overtime in order to earn as much money as possible. Saturdays were her off days, and she didn't have to go to work.

"Hey, mom." Zenith pulled up a chair of his own to sit at the table. There was a plate of Digestive biscuits on the table, so the Umbreon picked one up and began to bite into it, relishing the taste of sweetmeal. "Any plans for today?"

"Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine. We both know I can't read your mind."

"Well, at 12 I'm going to that house across the street to meet my friend."

At the sound of the word 'friend', Kelli's perked up, and her two-pronged tail, which was concealed under the table, twitched slightly in both joy and surprise as her mouth widened in a small smile. She hadn't heard that word in a long time.

"So your friend's family's the one that just moved into town a few weeks ago, huh?"

"Yeah. She invited me over."

"That sounds promising. It's been ages since I've remembered you having a friend. How did you two meet?"

Zenith's face flushed red in embarrassment as he remembered how he met Cleo, the incident still fresh and replaying out in his head. Averting eye contact with the Espeon, he muttered, "I just bumped into her in the hallways, that's all."

Kelli's gaze was full of suspicion as she looked at Zenith, the Umbreon staring intently at the biscuit in his paw. She could tell that he was lying, but she was clearly reaching a topic that he was uncomfortable with. She would have to ask him some other time, but for now, it would be wise to change the subject.

"That's nice, Zenith. I'm really glad you were able to find a friend. It'll do you good. My turn," The Espeon's eyes sparkled as she spoke. "There's been this Decidueye that's been somewhat of a regular customer at the store. Comes in after his work hours, we talk for a bit. Yesterday, he invited me on a date, so I won't be cooking anything for dinner today. Feel free to do whatever you like, just tell me first."

"I hope you enjoy yourself, mom."

"You too, Zenith. Just in the right way. I'm going to make lunch. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Thanks."

Finishing off the last of the biscuits, Zenith placed the plate in the dishwasher and headed through a small door next to the kitchen. It led to a smaller, darker, box-filled room. Closing the door behind him, Zenith flipped on a light switch located next to the doorway, The fluorescent light bulb attached to the ceiling flickered and glowed brightly, flooding the room with light. His mom had told him that this room had once contained a car, but it was sold soon after his birth. Now, with the room fully lit, it was possible to see random contraptions and parts strewn all over the floor. In the middle of all the mess was a workbench, with an almost-finished invention on it. It was shaped like a pistol, but there was no slot for a magazine. Instead, there was a Hitmonchen boxing glove attached to its barrel. Removing the Magikarp spring from his utility belt, Zenith worked to attach the bone to both gun and glove. A few tweaks and modifications later, Zenith held a fully functional boxing glove gun in his paws, like the ones seen in cartoons. Looking down on the worn-down glove, the words 'Mach Punch' was scribbled on its white label in his untidy handwriting. Subconsciously, Zenith's eyes flitted to a yellowing newspaper clip that was taped to the wall. The words printed on it were already fading due to its age, but its message was still somewhat readable: **Scientists find a way to objectify moves.** After searching online and a bout of bargaining later, the Umbreon was able to acquire a Technical Machine for the move for a cheap price. It took him a while, but he eventually managed to infuse the move into the glove. To test out his newest invention, Zenith picked up one of the many drink cans that littered the garage floor and placed it on a box. Aiming the glove gun at the can, Zenith pulled the slide on the pistol and pulled the trigger. The glove flew forward, propelled by the spring to hit the can. With 'Mach Punch' infused into the glove, it was a blur as it hit the can with such speed that not only did it crumple in the middle from the impact, it was launched off the box so fast that it shattered against the garage wall. Satisfied, Zenith was placing the glove gun in an empty box when he heard his mother's voice.

"Zenith! Lunch is ready!"

Pushing the box to one side, Zenith rushed out of the room towards the kitchen, flicking the light off as he did so.

-One lunch later-

"See you later!" Zenith called over his shoulder as he set off towards Cleo's house. It barely took him a minute to get there, since there was only a road separating the two. Like yesterday, the gate still had no sort of locks or latch whatsoever, so he just walked up to the front door and knocked on it.

A green and yellow blur shot out of the door, catching Zenith completely by surprise as he got tackled in the chest, sending him and his assailant sprawling across the front lawn.

"Cleo! Zenith's here!"

Zenith tried to get up, but realised that the grass around his paws had bound his limbs tightly to the dirt, and they were so deeply rooted that no amount of tugging from him could them free. However, looking at the Leafeon that now stood triumphantly on his chest, green tail wagging joyfully, he found it hard to stay mad at Cliff.

_I don't even think he knows that he's doing this. I mean, if he knew, he'd definitely be teasing me about this, right? Also, were you caught by surprise too, Dialga?_

**Nope. I knew it was gonna happen. Just wanted you to know how your life would have gone if I wasn't part of it.**

… _Screw you._

The front door opened once more and Cleo stepped outside, trying to stifle her laughter as she took in the sight of her little brother pinning down the Umbreon that was twice his size.

"Hey, Zenith. Glad you could make it. Seems like you received a very warm welcome from Leaf. Please come in."

Cleo held the door open, and Cliff leapt off Zenith to race back into the house. As the Leafeon did so, the blades of grass seemed to loosen their grip, and Zenith managed to pull himself free.

"Thanks for the help back there. Did you know your brother could do that?"

"I do, and so does mom, but he doesn't. He's kind of oblivious to his powers. Since you're now free, I guess I can officially introduce you to the Torrent residence. Come on in! My sister's going to arrive soon!"

From the window of her bedroom, Kelli watched the Vaporeon escort her son into the house. The Vaporeon- Cleo, wasn't it? -was too far away for the Espeon to read her thoughts, and she had no idea what Zenith would face in that house. But she knew one thing.

"That Leafeon knocking down my son? That was hilarious. Thank Arceus I got that on my phone."

Inside Cleo's house, the Vaporeon was leading up the flight of steps that had been cordoned off during his previous visit. The house had undergone a complete transformation. Its walls had been given a new coat of snow-white paint, a stark contrast of the fading yellow walls Zenith had seen yesterday. In the living room, a new rug had been set in place, and it covered the entire floor. Pictures had been hung on the wall, showing the same four Pokemon: Mrs Torrent except for a few differently coloured textbooks. Even the large tub of water in the corner of the room was blue as well. Cleo sat on her bed, swaddling herself in the blue blankets, while Zenith plopped himself on the bamboo floor, enjoying the coolness of the wood.

"If you don't mind, can I point out something about your surname?"

He noticed the Vaporeon stiffen slightly, her grip tightening on the sheets, but she nodded, acknowledging and approving his request.

"I mean, it fits you, but it feels weird that your mom's a Flareon with the name Torrent. No offence."

"Her original surname is Pyre. But after she married my dad, she used his surname as his own… until now." Her answer came in a brief, clipped tone. "Then again, your surname is Schroff, so I don't think you should be nitpicking my mom's." Sensing hesitance at the base of the bed, she spoke up first as she saw Zenith slowly open his mouth, knowing the question before the Umbreon could ask it. She had seen him staring at her family photos with a puzzled expression on his face, and he had been on tenterhooks around her ever since, as if finding the correct moment to ask a sensitive question.

"It's about my dad, isn't it?"

An awkward pause, and a small nod.

"B-but if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine by me."

"I think it'll be better if I tell you directly. Who knows what lies and gossip you could dig up on your own," Cleo took a deep breath as if to compose herself before resuming. "He was a good dad. But on the day mom came home with the news about her promotion, he left in the dead of night, with no trace. We have no idea if he's even alive or not. At least, that's what mom tells us."

Cleo was met with stunned silence from Zenith. On the outside, the Umbreon seemed quite calm, but internally, he was fighting to keep his several negative emotions in check. He felt guilty, for making Cleo reveal such a topic to someone outside her family. She really must have trusted him a lot to share the details of such a recent, touchy incident, and he swore silently never to break that trust. He felt anger, at a dad who left a loving family. He had grown up without one and knew how much damage it could do to many aspects of a Pokemon's life. But for one to just vanish from a family of four, without any sort of note or trace, leaving loving members to continuously worry about his whereabouts and state?

_What kind of father does that?_

Just as Zenith was about to express his thoughts to Cleo, he was interrupted by two loud, sharp honks from outside the large house.

"Oh! My sister's here!" Cleo jumped off her bed, dragging the Umbreon along in her excitement as she dashed to the front lawn.


	16. Chapter 16

**NSO Chapter 16**

I don't own Pokemon.

**Warning: This chapter contains a lime.**

* * *

The front door was already open when Cleo reached it, her mother and brother already on the front lawn, awaiting the newcomers. The family-sized car was now backing into the garage that was located beside the house, the three family members watching its progress.

Zenith groaned as he landed at the bottom of the stairs. In her excitement, Cleo had literally dragged Zenith out of her room and down the flight of stairs, somehow letting go of his paw in the process. Thanks to Dialga, Zenith managed to avoid hitting most of the steps, performing some sort of acrobatic manoeuvre down them. Exhausted from the sudden exertion of his body, he lay at the bottom of the stairs, panting heavily to catch his breath.

**Bravo! Could have stuck the landing though. I'll give it a… 7 out of 10.**

_You know, I almost missed hearing your voice, and now I'm immediately taking that thought back._

While the two were squabbling indoors, a Glaceon and a Lucario just exited the garage to be immediately swarmed by three overly excited Eeveelutions, who began to welcome them with overzealous enthusiasm.

"Zoey, Julley! Nice to finally have you two over!"

"Big sis! You're finally here!"

"Hey there, Cliff! You've grown so much! You're no longer an Eevee anymore!"

"Yup! I'm a plant-type now!"

"You've grown a lot too, Julley. I remember when you video called me from your college hostel to ask for permission to date my daughter. You were only a Riolu!"

"You don't have to bring this up now, Mrs Torrent..."

"Oh! Right! My little Glaceon and her boyfriend must be tired out from the trip here. Let's show you two to your room."

"Mom…"

"Hush now, Zoey. You need your rest. Any luggage?"

"Two, actually. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all! Come on, let's get you two inside."

With that sentence, Janice Torrent pushed the front door open, to reveal Zenith, still lying at the bottom of the stairs. He was still resting there, clearing his head of spinning stars, and looked up when he heard the front door open once more.

Julley and the members of the Torrent family watched in dumbfounded silence as Zenith realised the situation he was in, and scrambled to stand up, almost falling over as tripped over his tail, trying to get to his feet.

"So..." Julley scratched the back of his head. "Introductions, anyone?"

Zenith had nothing to say, startled by the sudden arrival of new guests, and embarrassed by the first impression he gave them. Luckily, Cleo was there to come to his aid.

"Zoey, Julley, this is Zenith. Zenith, this is my sister, Zoey, and her boyfriend, Julley. Zenith's a friend from school."

"Hey there, Zenith." Julley bent down to shake paws with the shorter Umbreon. "I'd introduce myself, but I think you already know my name."

_He seems like a pretty cool dude._

Meanwhile, Zoey gave Cleo a playful shove and whispered into her ear. "Wow, Cleo. Barely a few months in this new town, and you've already gotten yourself a boyfriend! He doesn't look half bad either. I admire your skill. It took me a year to get with Julley, and there were even a few failed attempts."

"He's not my boyfriend! We're just friends... classmates... and yet I feel something when I'm with him."

"That's called love at first sight, little sister."

Cleo was about to retort, but Janice pushed the two sisters away from each other.

"Zoey. Rest. Unpack."

As if on cue, Julley yawned, trying but failing to stifle it. "Yeah. I've been driving for about five hours straight. So if you excuse me..." And with that, Julley grabbed both luggage that were set on the floor and sprinted up the staircase. There was a moment of silence, before the Lucario's voice could be heard again. "So which room is ours?"

"The one on the far right!" Zenith shouted back up.

"Thanks, bro! Good luck with Cleo!" There was silence once more after the sound of a door opening, then closing.

"Well, I'm going to rest up too. We can paint the door later." It was Zoey's turn to retreat into her new room, trying to escape the awkward atmosphere that Julley had unknowingly created through his reply.

—

Zoey opened the door to her room, to see Julley already opening his luggage and removing the things in it. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he replied with a quizzical look. "What?"

The Glaceon laughed at her boyfriend's obliviousness to what he had caused downstairs. "Sometimes, do you even think before you speak?" She opened up her own luggage and began to unpack her things as well.

Julley's face flushed red under his blue fur as he tried to picture the scene that was playing out below his feet, feeling guilty at his poor choice of words.

"Whoops... anyway, what do you think of Zenith?"

"He seems fine, at first glance. He's a shy Pokemon, but I sense that he's greater than what he lets on. I have no objections if he wants to date Cleo."

"I guess I have to agree with you on that. You always have a knack of figuring people out fairly well. But did you completely miss out the fact that he was a 'Shiny'?"

Zoey's jaw dropped as her brain brought back up her encounter with the Umbreon. Only now she remembered the light blue rings and bands that Zenith had, which had completely slipped her mind for some unknown reason.

"Oh yeah... but there's something off about him." Zoey had retrieved her various pieces of clothing, and was placing them in one of the many drawers that were found in her closet, which was next to Julley's.

"Really? How so?" Julley walked over to his own closet, and started to do the same thing, but he had used clothes hangers instead of folding.

"Did you see his eyes? They were red. Normally, shiny Umbreons have orange eyes." Zoey had finished packing her clothes, closing the cupboard door to look at Julley for his thoughts.

"That's... strange all right. Anyway, I think Zenith's gonna ask Cleo out first." Julley closed his cupboard door as well, looking back at the Glaceon.

"Well, I think Cleo's going to ask first." Zoey took one step closer to the Lucario.

"Let's bet on it." Julley took one step closer as well, bending over a little so that he was still taller than Zoey, but their muzzles were almost touching.

"Bet accepted." Zoey tilted her head upwards, giving Julley a quick peck on the lips to seal the deal, before returning to her luggage to unpack more things.

—

Back in the living room, the awkwardness that hung in the atmosphere had been dissipated by Janice heading back into the kitchen, announcing that she would 'prepare a feast fit for six people', which Zenith took as confirmation that he would be staying for dinner. Cliff, oblivious to everything that was going on, had plopped himself on the couch in the middle of the living room, watching cartoons. The remaining two Eeveelutions had retreated back into Cleo's room, where Zenith was trying to help the Vaporeon prepare for the exams.

"I have no idea why you want me to start revising so early. I already know all this, and exams are ages away."

"Next week's the last week of school, followed by a week of holidays, then the exams start immediately after we come back from school. Two weeks is not 'ages'!"

"Sheesh, Zenith. Calm down. I get it. Stop being so paranoid."

**She's right, Zenith. Both of you are more than capable right now to pass with flying colours. You really have to chill on the subject of exams.**

_Did you just see into the future?_

**...maybe.**

"I guess you're right. We're already well prepared. Let's stop revising for now and try to enjoy the rest of the weekend."

Trying to change the subject, Zenith walked over to the giant tub of water. "So... what do you use this for?"

"I use it to practice my control over water! Wanna see?" Cleo responded in relief, thankful for the chance to get out of studies. She sat on her bed again, textbooks long forgotten on her desk she had been sitting at moments ago.

"Sure." Zenith stepped away from the tub, resuming his original sitting spot on the bamboo floor, making sure that he had a good view of the large blue plastic container.

Cleo stared at the water in the tub. Despite her brows furrowed in focus, pride was clearly visible on her features. "Since my molecules have a similar composition to water molecules, not only can I morph into water, but I can control it as well. I don't try to explain how this works. Basically, I can control the water with my mind, but it requires a lot of concentration. I'm still practicing." The water started to rise from the tub and hung in the air, a giant, colourless, translucent sphere.

Zenith watched as the sphere of water rippled for a moment, then a life-sized Zenith leapt out of it, leaving the sphere smaller than before. The real Umbreon stared in amazement as his water counterpart pranced around him in midair, extending a paw to touch it as it leapt past him. The water rippled as his paw ran through its flank, but the water Zenith didn't seem fazed in the slightest. It continued its circling around the room, before leaping back to stand beside the smaller water sphere, tilting its head to look at it, as if waiting for something to happen.

There was a small pause before the rest of the water sphere moulded itself into a life-sized figure of Cleo. It looked exactly like her, every detail spot on, which made sense. The real Cleo was technically 'made' of water herself. The water-Cleo started to run around the entire room, and water-Zenith gave chase. Zenith was looking at the scene before him in awe, which made the Vaporeon that was looking at him chuckle at his expression.

As Cleo concentrated, her gaze was slowly starting to shift over to the Zenith, the Umbreon's glowing blue rings and bands attracting her eyes to look at his arms and legs. They were somewhat muscular, and were nice to look at, in Cleo's opinion. Zenith had no idea what was going on beside him, still engrossed by the water-Pokemon, which were now starting to play a game of tag.

Cleo's eyes wandered over Zenith once again, taking in the Umbreon fully. The mental strain from the hydrokinesis made it easier for her mind to drift, and her thoughts started to become a bit more... lewd.

**Warning**

**The lime starts here. If you feel uncomfortable with reading texts containing slightly sexual content, feel free to scroll down until you see** **bolded words** **.**

While Zenith watched, the water-Zenith before him leapt forward, landing on top of water-Cleo and pinning her to the floor of the room. From there, he began to lick the neck of water-Cleo vigorously. Since the water-Pokemon had no vocal cords, they were incapable of producing sound, but judging from the realistic expression on water-Cleo's face, she was clearly enjoying whatever was being done to her. Without looking away from the scene, Zenith reached out with a paw and prodded the Vaporeon that was sitting above him.

**Oh, this is good. But I think I have to intervene before things get out of hand.**

Cleo was snapped out of her staring session by a series of gentle, but frantic nudges by the Pokemon she was ogling, followed by some rapid pointing towards the floor. Confused, she turned to look, and almost died from a combination of shock and embarrassment as she realised what she had been doing. By now, water-Zenith was locking lips with her water counterpart, flipping her over onto her back as he was doing so. There was a tiny tingle in the corner of Cleo's mind telling her to stop controlling the water, but it was easily overpowered by her own imagination, which was out of control. She was losing a battle against her own mind, and since this took her full concentration, she was unable to move her limbs or speak, only breathe and watch as her brain wreaked havoc on whatever relationship she had with Zenith. She tried to look to the Umbreon for help, but he seemed enraptured by the show in front of him and did not notice the frantic gazes that Cleo was shooting at him.

Water-Zenith was now slowly trailing kisses down water-Cleo's body, making her squirm. It was hard to tell what water-Cleo was feeling just from her expression, but it seemed to be a mixture of pleasure and happiness. He advanced lower and lower, and Cleo knew what part of her water-self he was aiming for if she let this continue. She couldn't let that happen. Not in front of Zenith. Concentrating as hard as she could, she tried to break through her imagination, to form the water back into a sphere.

At the same time, an unknown voice shouted inside her head.

**SNAP OUT OF IT!**

The loudness and suddenness of the voice stunned Cleo's mind for a while, leaving it blank for a moment as it tried to regain its bearings. On the floor, the two water-Pokemon froze, water-Zenith's tongue just mere millimetres away from its target, before they lost their shapes, merging back together to splash onto the floor, Cleo not controlling the water anymore. Since the water-Pokemon were now gone, Cleo's mind was clear once again. She concentrated once more for the water on the wooden floor to form the sphere once more, which she sent flying back into the tub, where it landed with a splash. The noise snapped Zenith out of his own daze. He shook his head, trying to comprehend what he had just witnessed. Cleo slumped back on her bed, mentally exhausted.

**Lime ends here.**

There was a knock at the door, and Julley poked his head into the room. "Hey guys, Mrs Torrent says-"

He broke off as he noticed Zenith staring back at him, a dazed-stunned look on his face, and Cleo was laying on her bed, looking at the ceiling, panting heavily.

"Uh, yeah. Mrs Torrent says dinner will be ready in five minutes. Okay, bye!" He quickly closed the door, walking back to his room, confused but determined not to find out what had just happened.


	17. Chapter 17

**NSO Chapter 17**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

"Okay. That was… weird, to say the least. Let's never talk about this again."

"Agreed."

"Well," Zenith shook his head vigorously, trying his best but failing to get rid of the scene that was seared into his mind. "I-I think your mom's probably finished with cooking. Wanna go downstairs?" He laid a paw on the door handle, about to turn it, but realised that Cleo hadn't moved from her spot on her bed, laying on it while staring at the ceiling with a sullen look on her face.

"Cleo." The Vaporeon continued to stay silent when her name was called. Staring at the ceiling, she heard the sound of pawsteps come closer, and felt the bed shift under the added weight of Zenith as he propped himself onto the bed.

"Cleo." Zenith repeated her name from where he sat, on a corner of the bed. "I get that you probably feel angry at yourself. You may feel embarrassed, thinking that you had just destroyed whatever we had between us, but I can assure you that it isn't the case. Sometimes, the best of us make mistakes, and that's all you did. Made a harmless mistake. Remember when I first met you? You saved me. At that moment, I knew instantly that you were and still are one of the best Pokemon I ever had the privilege of meeting. And nothing you say or do will make me think otherwise." Zenith looked away from Cleo after his small speech, cheeks burning as he stared at the floor. The words had seemed to just pour out of him as he spoke, seemingly from his heart, giving him the courage to say all those things without any sort of hesitation or regret… until now.

There was a moment of silence after Zenith's words, then the Umbreon felt a weight placed on his back as Cleo leaned on it, her paws on his shoulders.

"All cheesiness aside, do… you really mean that?"

"Definitely."

"Still cheesy, but I guess it's pretty deep, coming from someone who only met me a day ago."

"Um… yeah, I guess it is pretty cheesy. Anyways, dinner must be ready by now, right?"

"Yup." Cleo got off Zenith's back and leapt off her bed, nearing the doorknob. At the same time, a voice with the name of Dialga was screaming inside Zenith's head.

**You should ask her out right now! You'll never have a better chance than this.**

_Says the God who hasn't gotten together with Palkia for yet, even though you guys have already existed for a few millennia. And YOU'RE trying to give me relationship advice?_

**Me… Palkia…? Stop deflecting and just do it. You already proclaimed to her and everything. Also, there's no time like the present, right?**

_It's only the second day I've met her!_

**Yeah, and you've seen stuff most Pokemon show each other on their second day of meeting.**

_I...I..._

**C'mon, try to think of more counter-arguments. You have plenty of time. I've slowed it down so much that this can go on for two Earth hours. In the meantime, excuse me for a while. I have to prove you wrong.**

There seemed to be the sound of crackling static that made Zenith cringe. He could hear a faint thud resonate throughout his head, as if Dialga had set the PLC on his table, and the sound of a door opening. Zenith wrung his paws as he tried to think of a logical sentence to say to Cleo, while waiting for a response from Dialga. It was weird how the right words seemed to form in his mind when he tried to comfort Cleo, but his mind was now blank, unable to think of anything.

The sound of a door slamming shut broke Zenith out of his mental stupor, and the voice of Dialga followed it.

**Well, I asked Palkia out. She seemed quite... happy, but since she was halfway through her portal, I couldn't really tell. But she said yes. Now your turn.**

_Wait, didn't you guys already know each other for a few thousand years?_

**Enough about me. You and Cleo get right along like warm milk and cookies. Trust me, you guys are destined for each other. Now go get her, Blue.**

_Blue? I better hope that isn't a new nickname…_

The time around Zenith gradually sped up, and he noticed that Cleo was turning the doorknob.

"Wait!" A cry from the Umbreon caused Cleo's paw to slip off the knob as she turned around, curious at what Zenith had that to say, while silently hoping that he would say the words that she wanted to hear so badly.

"Cleo, over the course of these two days, I...i...uh, you know what, fudge the formalities. Enough with beating around the bush. Cleo, can I, uh… can I be your b-boyfriend?"

**Real smooth.**

With a single, happy shout of "Yes!", Cleo bounded over to Zenith and threw herself onto him as she hugged the Umbreon tightly.

"Wow," The Vaporeon's new boyfriend's voice was muffled as he tried to speak around her body, who was partially covering his face. "I guess this is what they mean by 'love at first sight', huh?"

Well," Cleo released her tight grip from around Zenith. "It's kind of hard to beat up the same Pokemon twice for each other without starting to like the Pokemon you're fighting for, right? Come on, let's get dinner."

_**It also helps that I've been liking you ever since I've moved here.**_ Cleo was glad that Zenith couldn't access her thoughts.

_**I'm glad you feel the same way about me too.** _

Dinner was pretty eventful. Over all those sumptuous dished that Janice Torrent had prepared. Zenith tried to explain to Mrs Torrent about his new relationship with her daughter. Keyword being 'tried'. He had this entire speech planned out in his head, but his nervousness caused him to become tongue-tied, leaving the unfortunate Umbreon spouting gibberish, earning a good laugh from everyone around the table. To save her boyfriend from any more shame, Cleo had to take over from him and explain to her mom, which gave her consent for Zenith to date her daughter. Since Zenith was the one that asked first, and Cleo was the one to confirm their relationship status, Julley and Zoey decided to call their bet a draw.

After dinner, Zenith was about to make his way up the stairs to use the toilet but was stopped when a paw unexpectedly closed around his own, pulling back into the living room. In a dim corner of the room, Zenith recognised the spike on the back of the dark-blue coloured paw but had no idea what Julley's intentions were.

"Hey Zenith, I just wanted you to show you something that might concern you. You have a phone, don't you?"

"Mine can only make calls and send texts. It's pretty old."

"Well, then you've probably never seen this yet."

Julley did his mobile phone under Zenith's eyes. It was opened to MewTube, and the video was titled 'Shiny Umbreon beats up Nidoking'. The video was slightly shaky but captured the entire fight clearly in high resolution. The sounds of the fight were muffled by the arena shields, but it was easy to make out what was going on. The video lasted until the end of the fighting, stopping after the camera panned upwards to show Kurt stuck in the wall. Zenith scrolled downwards, and his jaw dropped as he noticed that this video had garnered a few hundred thousand views. About two-thirds of the Pokemon that watched the video had liked it. The comments section was also going crazy, according to Julley, but Zenith decided not to check that out.

Zenith handed the phone back to Julley, waiting for his opinion on the matter while contemplating the situation at the same time.

"How will this video even affect Zenith? It just shows him kicking Kurt's ass, and most of the Pokemon watching this video seem to be rooting for him." Cleo had somehow managed to stand next to Zenith without the Umbreon's knowledge, causing him to jump in surprise when he heard her voice.

"It does affect Zenith, Cleo. First of all, it sends out a message that Zenith can take care of himself in a fight. This means that there will be lesser Pokemon trying to attack him now since they know what he can do to them. However, it completely exposed Zenith out into the public. I mean, even the school name is in the description. This means that 'Shiny' fans or haters, the ones too dumb to stay away from you, might just camp out at your school, or follow you home to stalk you. All I'm trying to say is... try to deal with the problem as fast as you can. If you wait it out for too long, it'll only cause more problems."

Zenith nodded his thanks, successfully flattening down his spiked-up fur. "I guess I'll just have to send a message if I have to. A strong one."

That night, Zenith decided to have a sleepover at the Torrent Residence, in Cleo's room with a sleeping bag she had found in her cupboard. He had texted his mom, and she was fine with it.

* * *

**Mom**

_Online_

* * *

Zenith: _Can I sleep over at Cleo's house tonight?_

Mom: **Sure. Just make sure you don't have too much fun.**

Zenith: :(

Mom: **:P**

Mom: **Come home tomorrow for dinner though. Mr Quill's coming over for dinner and I want you to meet him.**

Zenith: _Who's Mr Quill?_

Mom: **The Decidueye I went out with today.**

Zenith: _Ok. Good night._

Mom: **Gn, Zenith.**

* * *

Turning his phone off and setting it beside him, Zenith tucked himself into the soft covers of the sleeping bag. On her bed, Cleo's chest rose and fell with every breath she took, already asleep, curled up into a ball under her sheets.

_Glad today's over. It was pretty... I guess eventful's the only way I can describe it._

**Yes. Yes, it is. Sweet dreams, Zenith.**

Closing his eyes, Zenith willed himself into a dreamless sleep.

With everything that had happened today, he couldn't wait to see the things that would happen tomorrow.


	18. Chapter 18

**NSO Chapter 18**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

It was Sunday. Zenith had woken up at 4 a.m. and sneaked out of Cleo's room through the window to get his toothbrush from his house. To prevent waking anyone up unnecessarily, he decided to re-enter the house of the Torrents back through the window as before. He was halfway done in reopening the window from the outside when a cloud moved, uncovering the moon that had been hidden behind it. A beam of moonlight shone brightly into Cleo's room, lighting it up and revealing the Vaporeon sitting on her bed, no longer fast asleep. She was staring at the window as she observed the Umbreon that was opening it, an amused expression on her face. Zenith jumped, almost falling off the ledge he was standing on in surprise. He jerked his head at Cleo, showing her the toothbrush that was clamped firmly between his jaws. Opening the rest of the window, he leapt deftly into the room, waiting for Cleo's reaction to his actions.

"You could have used the front door, you know?" Cleo had a smirk on her face as Zenith shook his fur like a waterlogged dog, sending up a cloud of dust that he collected during his early morning run. They hung in the air, visible in the glow of the moon, before a light breeze blew through the house, sending the tiny particles out the window.

"Alright, I was dumb."

**Dumber than usual, apparently. You do know about my time powers, right?**

_Don't rub it in._

"Anyways, I'm just gonna go brush my teeth now." As Zenith left the room, Cleo curled back up into a ball and fell back asleep almost immediately, relishing the comfort of her bed. It was only 4:30 in the morning. Who wakes up so early on weekends, anyway?

Apparently, Zenith does. With sparkling white teeth and minty fresh breath, the Umbreon left Cleo a note, before setting off for a walk among the neighbourhood. He considered using the door like Cleo had advised him to, but still chose to exit through the window in the end. The oak door was too heavy to open quietly, and the way its hinges creaked would definitely wake someone up.

Zenith's rings and bands cast a faint blue glow around him in the faint darkness of dawn. Even though the sun was slowly rising, it was still quite dark outside, and the Umbreon's natural light and night vision helped him to see. He set off at a steady pace, jogging towards his school.

_With that video's popularity, there's bound to be someone who's looking for me there, good or bad._

**Most likely bad. I mean, that's all you ever run into.**

Dialga's guess was spot on, much to Zenith's dismay. As the Umbreon neared the familiar building, his large ears could pick up faint voices coming from a nearby bush, trimmed and pruned exquisitely into the shape of a Kingdra.

"Okay, remember the plan. When he walks past, throw this at him."

"You already told me the plan! More than once! Why do we even have to wait here so early in the morning?"

There was a loud sigh before the other speaker continued.

"So we can get him before others do! You know, the early Pidgey catches the Wurmple and all that." Zenith decided that it was time to show himself. The two Pokemon were so busy arguing with one another that Zenith had to shout to get their attention.

"Hey!"

The bush fell silent immediately. There was rustling as the Pokemon hiding behind it moved about, but the foliage provided so much coverage that it was unable to make out who the Pokemon were.

Suddenly, a canister flew out from the bush. It was poorly thrown, even by normal standards, since the assailant was throwing through a thick wall of branches and leaves. Zenith easily sidestepped the attack, and the glass canister cracked as soon as it hit the ground, releasing purple, pungent ooze that caused the tar of the road to bubble as soon as it made contact.

_Poison. No other types can pick it up, protection or not._

**So… one of the Pokemon must be a Poison-type!**

_Nice deduction, Captain Obvious._

**Hey, just pointing things out. Speaking of which, duck.**

Zenith instinctively dropped to the ground upon Dialga's advice, and felt a sudden blast of heat warm his back as a stream of fire shot over his head in the form of a Flamethrower.

_Thanks._

**Come on, get your head in the game. You're getting sloppy.**

Zenith rolled to the side as the Flamethrower was directed downwards, trying to track his position to incinerate him into ashes. Staying out of its range, the Umbreon juked left and right, trying to see if what he predicted could come true.

Never use a fire-based attack around anything that catches fire easily. Especially when the flammable object is the thing that you're hiding in. As he predicted, it didn't take long for a stray spark from the Flamethrower to jump onto the shrubbery, the Kingdra bush going up in flames almost immediately... The Flamethrower stopped abruptly, and as the cold dawn air swallowed up the heat, the two Pokemon quickly leapt out of the burning bush, stamping on it to put out the fire. Now that they were out in the open, Zenith could identify their species. They were a Trubbish and a Grimer, and despite them being pre-evolutions, they still looked pretty old, around their mid-30s, and also pretty high level.

Zenith waited until the flaming Kingdra was a pile of glowing cinders before speaking.

"Well, look at this. A Trubbish and Grimer, working together to bring me down. You guys must be really desperate, huh? Also, if I may ask, why is your poison in a bottle?"

The Trubbish was the first one to speak. He had a snobby accent, and the superior tone he had ground against Zenith's ears. "We are united by one goal: to eliminate you. Shinies are the scum of the Earth, different from the equals Arceus created us to be. And this allows us to set our differences aside in order to purge your kind from the face of the Earth. Also, we store our poison in canisters for better accuracy. We're aiming at you, not trying to destroy everything around us. We're not monsters."

Zenith surveyed his surroundings. "Not trying to destroy everything, huh? Doing a great job." The Grimer started to speak as well, but Zenith held up a Dark Pulse in his paw, cutting him off.

"Can't we all just talk about this? I mean, I sense many flaws in your plan. I, for one, will be more than happy to point them ou-whoah!"

Zenith hit the ground once more as a Sludge Bomb was lobbed at him, forcing him to duck. He groaned inwardly. These guys didn't seem like they wanted to talk things out.

_Okay, for the record, I DID try a peaceful solution._

**I'm sure they'll take note of that.**

"Last warning."

The two Poison-type were still advancing towards him, a canister in each hand. Picking himself off the ground, Zenith faced the two Poison-type Pokemon. "Well then. One more thing for you guys to take note of before we fight. Your reason for killing off shinies is trash. But then again, you guys are literally piles of trash, so I shouldn't have expected better." Zenith's eyes narrowed into thin black slits, preparing himself for the inevitable fight as the two Pokemon before him did the same.

"Okay then. You guys asked for it. Let's get this over with."

Zenith threw his Dark Pulse towards the feet of his opponent and leapt upwards. Just in time, too. A canister sailed below him, bursting into a giant purple mess, which quickly congealed and solidified on the road. Zenith landed a good distance away just as his attack hit his targets. The explosion flung the two Pokemon backwards, causing them to land face flat on the cold, hard tarmac.

The Umbreon gave his opponents no time to recover. His eyes glowed a bright purple, a light blue glow mixing with his blood-red pupils. His rings glowed brighter, enveloping his entire body in the same bright blue glow. Two giant crescent blades appeared into existence on each side of the Umbreon. The blades were a faint blue colour as well and were translucent. The Poison-types cowered in fear, recognising the attack that bore down on them. The Grimer lobbed a Sludge Bomb at the Dark-type, trying to break his concentration, but Zenith barely flinched as it detonated at his feet, covering him ear-to-paw in the sludge. If anything, the blades seemed to grow even larger, and they started to thicken.

"Tell all your friends, 'Shiny' haters or not, to stay far away from this area. If not, well..." A sinister smile formed on Zenith's face, the weak sunlight of the dawning sun casting shadows upon his features, making him look even more intimidating than before. "This will happen to them." And with that sentence, he unleashed his Psychic attack at the Sludge and Trash Bag Pokemon.

The powerful telekinetic blades slammed through the bodies of the two Pokemon, the impact sending them flying high into the air, before landing on the ground with a 'thump'. When Zenith went over to inspect their state, he realised that they had fainted, swirls replacing their eyes.

Zenith sighed in relief. Even with two Pokemon, that fight wasn't as intense as his previous fights. He tried to wipe his forehead, then realised that he was still covered in sludge. He hadn't felt it when the Sludge Bomb exploded at his feet. But if he had, he would have lost his focus, draining a huge amount of mental energy on an attack that wouldn't even hit his opponents.

_Maybe this partially pain proof thing isn't so bad after all. But on the other paw, I have to clean myself up._

As Zenith looked around for something to wipe off the sludge, he saw a yellow head peek out from behind a house. It had two long antennae, with large green compound eyes. Before Zenith could rake a closer look, it squeaked in surprise at being noticed and ducked back behind the house. When Zenith went to investigate, the Pokemon was already gone.

_Oh well. I guess I'd better get back to Cleo. I think that sludge's starting to harden. I can feel it sticking to my fur!_

**Think on the bright side! The effect of the poison are weakening now that the sludge's hardening,, so only a bit of it managed to eat into your flesh and fur!**

_That's nowhere near a bright side... wait. Did you say that the sludge ate into my flesh?_

**Yup! Better walk faster!**

By the time Zenith had trudged to the doorstep of Cleo's house, most of the sludge had dried and hardened, except for the ones covering his moving limbs, which were still working their effects into his flesh. The other parts of his body, like his jaws, were immobilised.

Due to the sludge, Zenith couldn't lift his paw to ring the doorbell, so he rammed his face into it. It hardly hurt, and the shell of sludge around his muzzle started to crack. He couldn't hear the bell ring inside the house, but it must have, because a few moments later the main door opened to reveal a recently awoken Cleo.

"So." She surveyed Zenith's current state: covered from ear to toe in purple sludge, completely unable to move, now that the quick-drying sludge had hardened itself around his leg joints.

"You need my help?"


	19. Chapter 19

**NSO Chapter 19**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

That was how the Water and Dark duo spent the rest of the morning. Cleo had hosed him down, accompanied with a giant hydro hand to peel off the sticky sludge, with Zenith using Psychic to assist her. It was a slow and arduous task, but since Cleo had removed the sludge around the Umbreon's muzzle first, he had ample time to explain what had happened to him.

-Time skip: 10:30 a.m.-

"Well, that's everything!" Cleo's peeled the last of the sludge off Zenith, but that revealed another problem. The poison was not very strong, but it had only eaten through Zenith's fur and irritated his skin, leaving his body bare with red patches all over his body. Cleo knew that any other Pokemon in Zenith's paws right now would be in extreme pain, but her boyfriend just stood there, with a calm expression on his face. It was clear that he couldn't feel the pain at all, or at least, felt very little of it.

Cleo's first thought was to use Aqua Ring, but she worried that the little amounts of healing that the move did would not be enough to fully heal Zenith. Fortunately, the Umbreon acted first. Right before Cleo's eyes, the bright red patches on his body faded back into its original colour, and dissolved fur regrew. In the span of about of a few minutes, Zenith seemed to be back to his usual, healthy self.

"What move was that? Recover?"

"Moonlight, actually."

"It works in the day?"

"Yeah, but it's more effective at night."

"I guess that makes sense, in some way. What do you want to do now?"

"I should be asking you that question. I've had my fill of excitement for today. It's your turn."

The rest of the Sunday passed by in a blur. Still not fully accustomed to their new relationship status, they had read their way through Cleo's collection of blue-covered romance books, laughing about the unbelievable circumstances in the plot and blushing at more steamy scenes. The both of them had also spent way more time than expected with their backs on the cool bamboo floor, making out patterns in the wood grain of the ceiling.

After lunch, Julley showed Zenith a new video that was trending on Mewtube. It was the fight between Zenith and the two Poison-types, shout with surprising clarity. The cameramon had captured every detail of the fight, and even Zenith's words could be heard. The video was named "'Shiny' Umbreon teaches haters a lesson!' The username of the Poketuber was BugEyed, and since no commentary was given throughout the video, his or her identity was unknown. Zenith seemed somewhat happy about the video being circulated online, stating that 'with this, more Pokemon get the message and will stay the heck away from me.' But now he knew who the Vibrava was, and made sure to keep an eye out for her if he got into any more fights. Too much 'popularity' may lead to undesired consequences.

Zenith retreated back into Cleo's room along with its owner. There, they chatted about random thoughts they had. Whilst looking for more books to read, Zenith had accidentally stumbled upon Cleo's love for art when uncovering a few of her sketchbooks, Cleo hastily crumpling up sketches she had made of him in class while he was distracted by her landscape drawings.

Zenith looked at the clock that hung on one of the blue walls.

_It's 6:48 p.m. already? Dialga, did you do anything with the time flow?_

_**Me? Nah. I have a life, you know.** _

"Cleo, I have to go now. My mom's bringing over Mr Quill for dinner tonight, and I want to meet him. "

"Can't you stay a little longer? I'm pretty sure that your dinner starts at seven. Just five more minutes?"

"...I guess five more minutes won't hurt. But after that, I really have to go."

With a container of meatloaf between his jaws, Zenith reluctantly waved goodbye to Cleo and walked back to his home across the street, leaving the Vaporeon wondering why she desired his company so badly.

When the Umbreon reached home, his mom had already prepared dinner, and it was spread equally on four separate plates on the dining table. She was not on the ground floor at the moment, most likely in the bathroom freshening up.

Zenith was about to head up to his room as well and was halfway up the stairs when he paused in his tracks to look back at the dining table, noticing something off about it.

_Four plates? Shouldn't there only be three? Maybe there's-_

The sound of a doorbell reverberated throughout the entire house, cutting off Zenith's train of thought.

_Well, I guess it's time._

Zenith headed for the door, but his mother was faster, somehow making it to the front door even before her son could take two steps forward. Opening the door with a rare smile on her face, she cheerfully greeted the new guests.

"Clint! You're finally here, and you brought her too! Come on in, I made dinner. Yes, I did make enough for everyone."

The Espeon stepped aside to allow Clint Quill to enter her house. He was a Decidueye, with the coat-like feathers, the green hoodie around his head, pretty much what Zenith expected. But what he didn't expect was the other Pokemon that Mr Quill had brought along with him. It was a Vibrava, flying into the house after Clint had entered. "This is my daughter, her name is Gayle." Mr Quill introduced the Vibrava. Gayle's eyes scanned the room nervously, and a look of surprise flashed across her face when she saw Zenith standing next to the dining table, although she did stifle a squeal this time.

_Huh. I guess it IS the same one._

**What a coincidence.**

"Zenith, this is Clint Quill, and this is Gayle. Clint, Gayle, this is my son, Zenith."

Zenith shook Mr Clint's outstretched hand, and shook Gayle's hand as well, although somewhat awkwardly since none of then wanted to announce that they had met before in front of their parents. It would raise too many questions.

Dinner was lively, the atmosphere mostly contributed by the Clint and Kelli, who talked about everything under the sun. Zenith and Gayle just ate their meals and watched their parents talk. The meatloaf that Zenith had brought added extra flavour to the spaghetti that Kelli had made, and everyone enjoyed it.

Gayle had finished her food even before Zenith had finished his, which was surprising. But she stayed in her seat, looking on at the two adults as they chatted happily. When Zenith was done, he brought his plate to the kitchen to wash. Gayle followed suit, trying her best not to be a bad guest.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Zenith was already in the middle of washing his plate. Setting her plate on the counter next to sink, she waited for him to finish.

**Why don't you say something?**

_I have no idea how even start talking to her!_

"So..." Gayle tried to make small talk to cut the tension between the two Pokemon, which had become so thick it could be a Wailmer. "Today morning, huh?"

"Yeah, it was... let's say eventful. But I'm curious. Why were you there in the first place? It was so early in the morning."

"I was just checking out the school. I'm going to transfer there soon. But when I got there, there was the fight and all that..."

"Sorry about the fight. You recorded it, didn't you?"

"Uh... yeah. I saw the fight you had on Mewtube, so when I recognised you again I had to take the video. Sorry if you didn't approve of it."

"Nah, don't be. I think it sends a message to the haters. Also, sorry for cutting your school exploration session short. If you want, I can show you around sometime. I go there too. When do you start?"

"Tomorrow, I think." The volume of Gayle's voice dropped so low, only Zenith's hypersensitive ears could pick up her whisper. "I think my dad really likes your mom. I've never seen him this happy before." Zenith looked back at the dining table. Clint and Kelli were conversing enthusiastically, laughing at each other's jokes.

"Yeah. They seem to have pretty good chemistry for two Pokemon who just met."

Upon hearing Zenith's reply, a small smile appeared on Gayle's face, followed by a slight chuckle, causing Zenith to cock his head in confusion.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No. I just found it funny that you didn't know."

"Know what?"

"It's just that... my dad has been seeing your mom for quite a long period of time already. Normally it's Dad that takes your mom out."

"Wait... then why are they meeting here?"

Gayle spoke in the same low whisper as before. "They're meeting here to discuss my father moving into your house."

Zenith's head spun as his brain tried to process this bit of information. _Moving in? That could only mean..._

Before Zenith could fully comprehend his thoughts, his mother's voice rang out from the kitchen.

"Kids! Mind coming over here? We have something to tell you!"

Zenith sighed. It was going to be a long evening.

-Time Skip-

Zenith lay on his bed, staring at the night sky through his window. He respected the decisions of both Clint and his mom. After all, his mom had been single for so long, and with Clint, she looked the happiest she had ever been in years. Zenith did not want to ruin that for her.

**So, what did I miss? I fell asleep.**

_So the silence didn't mean that you were listening, huh?_

**Fine. Don't tell me. Accessing your memory banks... got it! So Gayle's taking your guest bedroom, and Clint's sharing a bedroom with your mom. They're also going to stay here from now on. Did I get that correct?**

_Wow. The entire conversation took 3 hours, and here you are, summarising it in two sentences._

**I'm awesome like that.**

_Well, you'd better be awesome and quiet, since I'm going to sleep now. It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted. I really need this rest._

**Okay then. Good night, Zenith.**

_Good night, Dialga._


	20. Chapter 20

**NSO Chapter 20**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Zenith was in a dark room, completely devoid of light with the exception of the faint blue light that emanated from his rings and bands. Even though he naturally had night vision, it seemed to be useless, not even being able to see two metres ahead of him. In the dim light, he could make out the silhouette of an hourglass, laying on the floor. Picking it up, Zenith squinted, trying to see in the little light he had. The amount of sand at the bottom had increased, but only by a small amount. This time, there was a letter 'A' carved neatly next to the 'D'. Zenith gulped nervously, trying to think of other things this hourglass could be predicting, besides the one word he dreaded.

Zenith was ejected from his dream, waking up in another cold sweat. Looking at his bedside table, the digital clock read 4:44 a.m. as he got out of bed.

**Why in the world do you wake up so early?**

_Just my internal clock. I think it's broken but in a good way._

**That makes no sense.**

Gayle was laying on a futon next to his bed, sound asleep. He stepped over the Vibrava carefully, going to check on his mother. Both Kelli and Clint were still sleeping, with Clint on a similar futon as his daughter. The Decidueye worked in a company that manufactured mobile phones, his keen eye, along with his skill and dexterity in handling small objects making him a natural at his job and the best workers there. It was still too early for any of them to be up, so Zenith tried his best to be quiet as he descended the stairs, avoiding any creaky boards.

Entering the dark kitchen, Zenith poured himself a glass of cold milk from the fridge. Sipping the cold beverage in his paws, the kitchen lights flickered on and in walked Gayle. Her green wings were crumpled against her sides due to her sleeping position, and she blinked her eyes blearily at the Umbreon, only half awake.

"Arceus, Zenith. Don't you ever turn on the lights? It's kinda creepy seeing you like that in the dark."

Zenith pointed to his blood-red eyes. "Night vision. I don't need to turn on the lights."

_Then again... if I do have night vision, shouldn't I have been able to see inside that dark room in my dreams?_

**Dream logic, Zenith. Never argue with dream logic.**

"Speaking of which, you DO realise that your eyes emit red light, right? You have no idea how creepy you look in the dark."

The Umbreon shrugged. "Not like I can turn them off. Anyway, want a glass of milk?"

"Yes, actually. I prefer warm milk though. The Vibrava's eyes were darting around the kitchen, trying to familiarise herself with the place. But when her gaze returned to the table Zenith was sitting at, there was a mug on the table, its handle facing her.

"Okay... where did that come from?"

"Where did what come from?"

"The mug, Zenith. This mug." Gayle pointed at said mug with her two-fingered hand.

"Oh, that mug." Zenith took another sip of milk. "My mom bought it for you guys a few hours before you and your dad arrived yesterday. You know, with her Future Sight, her being an Espeon and all."

The ghost of a smile crossed Zenith's face as Gayle facepalmed, trying to keep up his indifferent expression.

"I mean... it wasn't... never mind. I know this is your doing, and thank you for it, even though I have no idea how you did it." Grabbing the mug off the table, she downed its contents in one gulp, much to Zenith's amazement, before heading back upstairs. "I'm going to freshen up for school. Just call me when you're done."

"Will do." And with that, Zenith turned the lights back off using Psychic, plunging the room back into total darkness to continue drinking his milk.

-Time Skip-

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Then let's go. I have to stop by a friend's house first though."

"Fine by me."

Gayle stopped hovering in the air to drop onto Zenith, with her hands and feet clasped firmly on the sides of his back, her yellow body resting on his backpack.

"Don't mind if I do."

Fastening his utility belt tightly around his waist, Zenith shut the door behind them, crossing the street while ignoring Gayle's probing questions about the house he was heading towards and its occupants.

The door opened a few seconds after the doorbell was rung, and out sped Cliff, rolling around on the grass of the front lawn. Cleo appeared a few moments later, carrying a blue coloured backpack. She wore a drowsy expression, rubbing her eyes to try and clear away the last remains of sleep from them.

"Hey there, Zenith. Do we really have to leave this early? It's only five-thirty..." Cleo's words trailed off into silence as she looked up for the first time and noticed the female Vibrava on Zenith's back. She looked back at the Umbreon, an eyebrow raised in an accusing glare.

Speaking of Zenith, he decided to step in before the things escalated any further. "Cleo, this is Gayle. She's... uh..." Just like with Janice about Cleo, Zenith had no idea how to describe his relations with the Vibrava. "Gayle, a little help here?"

"Oh, sure. Apparently, my dad likes Zenith's mom, so he moved into Zenith's house, and I came along. Also, Zenith, you haven't properly introduced the both of us."

Gayle's calm tone and explanation seemed to jog Zenith's mind back into a functional state.

"Sorry about that. I was... panicking. Cleo, this is Gayle. I guess you could say that she'll be my sister, considering the progress of our parents. She's joining our school today, so she's just... hitching a ride. Gayle, this is Cleo, my classmate and girlfriend."

Both female Pokemon had different reactions to Zenith's last word. Cleo started to blush, and Gayle quickly got off the Umbreon's back.

"Uh... sorry if I was sending out an unintended message. No hard feelings?" Gayle extended a claw to the Water-type.

"It's fine." Cleo returned the clawshake offered.

And with the paw/clawshake, the three Pokemon set off in the direction of their school.

But not before dropping Cliff at his primary school beforehand.


	21. Chapter 21

**NSO Chapter 21**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

The next two weeks flew by, filled with revising and studying as the students of Kingdra High frantically prepared for their examinations. Well, all of the pupils except for one. Gayle had already completed her exams in her previous school, so she was exempted from the papers that her classmates had to take. Thus, while Zenith spent most of his time with Cleo pouring through notes, the Vibrava spent most of her time zipping around school and the neighbourhood, exploring every nook and cranny.

Four exam-filled days passed by with the same speed as the two weeks before them, and Zenith found leaving the gymnasium to meet Cleo, having finished his Battle Training exam, where he had to last his own against a battle bot in the arena.

Zenith arched his back, trying to relax his muscles that were aching from overexertion.

"Well, exams are finally over."

"We do have a break, right? I don't think I want to go back to school for a looong time."

"Yeah, we have a week of free time away from school, but we do have to return during the last three weeks for Post Exam Activities. Do you have any plans?"

"I... was thinking that we could spend more time together." Cleo looked away, blushing. A frantic voice in her head was scolding her for just blurting that sentence out loud, but it was quickly silenced by Zenith's reply.

"That sounds awesome. C'mon, let's go get lunch. This exam really works up an appetite!"

Gayle sighed from her spot on the ceiling, watching Zenith and Cleo walk towards the canteen. Seeing Zenith in a relationship made her feel lonely. The empty void in her heart became more and more prominent as she witnessed more acts of affection around her, and it yearned for the company of another Pokemon to fill it up.

_Calm down, Gayle. You've only been in this school for a few weeks, and you already expect to find love? Does that not sound a bit too ambitious to you?_

_But... I've always been alone, with no friends. Ever since I was in that orphanage... to when Clint adopted me... to now. All my life, I've seen Pokemon finding their own partners. No one likes you as a Trapinch and being a Vibrava makes no difference._

_I just want to feel what I've seen others feel..._

_Gayle shook her head vigorously, trying to get rid of the negative thoughts that she had been wallowing in._

_I need something to do to distract me from this..._

From the corner of her eye, Gayle noticed a glint, the light reflecting off its surface to catch her eye. Curious, she turned around, only to see the shine coming from a large piece of paper pinned on the school's notice board. Out of the other multiple pieces of paper advertising different programmes and clubs, this one poster seemed to stand out from the rest, shining brightly in the electric lighting of the hallway, as if calling out to the only Pokemon left in said hallway.

_I think I found my solution._

Flying down from the ceiling, Gayle went to check out what that poster was about.

_**Presenting... the all-new Battling Club!** _

_**Do you have a burning passion for battling? Then step in, because it's all we need!** _

_**Ever Battle Training started in this school, it has been gaining popularity, being integrated into the curriculum of many other schools! Now with more than a hundred schools teaching Battle Training, we can finally introduce Battle Clubs!** _

_**Each school with Battle Training will come up with a team of six Pokemon plus a reserve to form a 'Battle Team'! Each 'Battle Team' will Battle others from different schools to become champion in the inter-school competition known as the Pokeschool League!** _

_**Interested? If you are, head to the Battle Room now for tryouts by Mrs Sal! Remember, spots are limited, so sign up now!** _

Gayle examined the poster closely. There was a date printed on its bottom right corner, and it seemed to be the date it was published.

_Published today? This is too much of a coincidence._

The Vibrava looked back at the red door of the Battle Room. Zenith was the last student taking the exam, so it was empty, save for Mrs Sal, The Salamence seemingly always in the room.

_I guess there's no harm in trying it out. I think I'm good at battling, I proved that to the bullies in the orphanage. I think I'll give it a shot._

And into the Battle Room, Gayle went.

"Hey, Zenith? You do realise that school's out for the day, right? Like, after we finish our exams, we can go home?"

Zenith put down his empty Moomoo milk bottle on the canteen table.

"Yeah, but I have to wait for Gayle first."

"She went for try-outs for that Battle Club thing, right? I hope she didn't see us peeking around the corner. "

"She most likely did. Vibravas have a 270-degree range of vision, so I think she definitely saw us, just that she didn't want to speak out. Then again, she seemed pretty distracted..."

"Oh. Did you try to sense her emotions? Read her mind?"

"Why would I try to do that? "

"You know... you have Psychic... we could use it to understand her more!"

"That's wrong! It's an invasion of her privacy!"

"I guess you're right. "

The whispers were cut off as the sound of the Battle Room opening reverberated through the hallway. Gayle flew in a moment later, literally buzzing with excitement.

"Guys! Guess what? I got into the Battle Club! I completely crushed that tryout! The school's going to have to buy a new Battle Bot though..."

Zenith whistled in admiration, impressed by the Vibrava's feat. Even he didn't beat the Battle Bot until a point where it was completely out of use. "That's great! Wanna go get ice cream to celebrate? McDonphan's having a sale on their frozen confectioneries!"

"Sure, you walking thesaurus. Honestly, why can't you use the same word in two consecutive sentences? It's kind of weird. "

Zenith pondered that piece of information for a while. And a while more. Seeing that the Umbreon was starting to think deeply again, Cleo hurriedly got off her seat, laughing nervously to break the silence. Once entering that 'state', Zenith wouldn't snap out of it until he managed to think of an answer or gave up trying. This took quite some time, and with his mind running on autopilot for his other actions, he was effectively a danger to himself and his surroundings. Like the time he fell down the flight of stairs in Cleo's house, deep in thought about the Vaporeon's transition from a liquid to a solid form while trying to get a glass of water from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Gayle! It's weird, but it's not worth thinking about, right Zenith? Now let's go get some ice cream!"

Too late. Zenith was now standing there, eyes unfocused, staring into blank space as he started to walk out of the canteen. Sighing, Cleo took off after him, leaving Gayle flying behind, both amused and impressed as she watched the scene before her.

_Dialga? You there? I have a question..._


	22. Chapter 22

**NSO Chapter 22**

_(Day 1, Part 1)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

"When is Gayle coming back from her Battle Club Camp again?"

"The camp lasts five days, Zenith. I've told you this before. She'll be back on the last day of our break. I must admit, it's nice that your school just lets us not go to school when there's nothing left to learn. It's only a week, but I'll take it!"

"I know, right? A week of no school, then Post-Exam Activities, then the last month of the year, which is also of a holiday, before going back to school as Year 4s!"

On her place on her bed, Cleo leaned over to look at Zenith, who was lying on the floor as usual. "You know, Zenith. I love every part of you and all, but I really wish you'd stop planning so far ahead sometimes. It really makes everything seem so short, and bums everyone out. Anyways, want to walk around the neighbourhood?"

"Sure. Not like there's anything else to do here anyway."

Getting up from the bedroom floor, he opened the door for the Vaporeon before leaving the room himself. The house was quiet as the duo walked down the stairs. Mrs Torrent had left for work, Cliff still had school, while Zoey and Julley had part-time jobs in this town.

However, the atmosphere of the neighbourhood was the total opposite. Most Pokemon, students of Kingdra High, suddenly found themselves with a week of free time due to her break. Pokemon stood on the pavement, chatting with one another animatedly, while those with nothing to do just stood around awkwardly, looking around for something to do. Some Pokemon were practising battle moves on a nearby field, and a game of soccer was playing out a short distance away. In short, the break was like a very long recess, and the neighbourhood was a school's playground.

And what was a playground without its bullies?

From the doorstep of the Torrent house, Zenith could see trouble making its way over to the battling Pokemon, in the shape of a large, Poison/Ground-type Pokemon. The Umbreon prodded Cleo with a paw and pointed towards the field, where she saw the same thing as he did. Silently, they padded over to the large, lush patch of grass, curious to see what the Nidoking would do this time.

On the field was a large circle of sandy ground, the grass trampled to death by countless playful Pokemon during countless bouts of fun. But now, the arena of dirt was occupied by a Blaziken and a Manectric, who were in the middle of a fiery battle, literally. As they clashed, every attack they made sent sparks and cinders flying through the air, bursts of flames heating up the atmosphere even more.

In the middle of the makeshift battling field was a small circular stone. It was the size of a large marble and was slightly translucent. Its surface was a gradient of purple, blue and green, and a small DNA spiral could be seen in the middle of the stone, but the ends of the spiral met together, forming pointed tips. Through the many conversations around him, Zenith could gather enough information to infer that this was a 'tournament' these Pokemon has come up with, and the prize was the stone in the middle.

_Huh. I wonder what that stone is. Does it do anything?_

_Dialga? Any thoughts?_

_Dialga?_

Before Zenith could get an answer to his question, a large "OOH" rose from the crowd around him. The Blaziken hit the ground with a thump, eyes in spirals. Small sparks of electricity served across the unconscious, feathered body.

"And Shockhound wins again!" The Manectric lifted his head to the sky and roared triumphantly, and the crowd surrounding the sandy ring erupted into thunderous cheers and applause.

The electric-type reached out to pick up the stone, but a guttural roar from the middle of the crowd froze him in his tracks.

_This cannot be good._

The crowd fell deathly silent, Pokemon scrambling to one side to allow the hulking shape of the Nidoking to emerge and step into the 'arena'. The Manectric suddenly looked a lot less confident as he faced his new competitor.

"Well, Shockhound," Kurt sneered. "Looks like your winning streak's about to come to a very messy end."

The battle was almost painful to watch. The fight was only about three minutes long, if what Zenith watched could be considered a 'fight'. It would be more appropriate to call it an absolute thrashing. Due to type weakness and immunity, the Manectric was unable to make a scratch on Kurt, while the Nidoking just shrugged off all his electric attacks with ease. Zenith noted Kurt's battling method. It was a ruthless, all-out attack, not giving the opponent a chance to fight back or recover. He had obviously been training a lot more since his last humiliating defeat.

**Zenith! You can't let Kurt get his claws on that stone!**

_What? Why? I mean, he's actually doing nothing wrong. Also, where were you for the past few days?_

**Never mind that! Kurt just can't have the stone! I can't explain this to you now, but it is of utmost importance that Kurt does not obtain the Me- marble! I mean stone!**

_One day, you and I are going to have a little chat where you explain all this to me._

Zenith looked around for Cleo and spotted her quite some distance away. She was sitting on her haunches, paws over her mouth as she watched the horrifying spectacle in front of her. Turning to look back at the fight, Zenith noticed that Kurt had picked the Manectric up by one of its limbs, and was now bringing the Pokemon above his head, before smashing it into the ground repeatedly, even though the Manectric has already fainted. Now THIS Zenith couldn't stand. He shoved his way through the crowd until he reached the Vaporeon's side, and told her what he was going to do.

"Just provide backup... if I need it. I don't think Kurt will fight fairly when facing me. But if he does, leave me to face him, one on one. I'm pretty sure I can take him on myself."

With Cleo's nod of acknowledgement, Zenith stepped out of the arena and into the sand circle.

"Hey, asshole! Leave the poor Manectric alone, you sick bastard."

The entire crowd was already silent, the only sound being the countless thuds of the Manectric being slammed against the floor again and again. That sound stopped as Kurt let go of the Pokemon in his claws, looking around to try to see the Pokémon that has insulted him. When the Nidoking's gaze landed on Zenith, his smile grew wider than anyone had seen before, causing the Umbreon to shudder at the creepy sight.

"Care to say all that again to my face, freak?" The Nidoking spat the last word out with hatred.

"Oh, I thought I already was. Or am I talking to your ass? It's pretty hard to tell between the two." Zenith managed to reply in a somewhat nonchalant tone, even though he was quivering like jelly on the inside.

Kurt took one menacing step towards Zenith, and it took the Umbreon all of his willpower to not step back out of instinct. But his bait worked. Now that Kurt was no longer near 'Shockhound', Zenith could see a few Pokemon silently slip out of the crowd to lift the Manectric back to safety.

_Don't panic don't panic don't panic..._

**Relax, Zenith. I mean, you have to. I'm… using the PLC to… steady your heart rate, and making sure your face shows no signs of fear. Means you don't look like you're freaking out, so go for it.**

Another collective "OOH" rose from the audience, this time in response to the Umbreon's witty comment. This enraged Kurt even further, his face flushing even redder, forming a shade of purple-red that was unpleasant to the eye.

"So what brings you here, freak? Unless you're here to challenge me for the stone, you'd better beat it. Fast. Before I beat you into the ground."

Zenith had to thank Dialga someday. He was now feeling a lot calmer, and a lot more confident. "As a matter of fact, I am challenging you for the stone. Just wanted to show you what pounding on unconscious bodies is wrong. The stone, and defeating you, is just a bonus," He replied, unfazed by the Nidoking's threatening tone.

"Okay, then. The time is ripe for payback, freak. They'll be sending what's left of you to the hospital in a matchbox."

The two Pokemon stood at the opposite ends of the sandy arena, staring at each other as they circled the perimeter. The crowd surrounding them was bristling with excitement, anticipation and fear, Cleo watching nervously in the midst of all the other Pokémon. There was silence for a moment, the air thick with tension as the two competitors stared at each other, motionless.

And the battle began.


	23. Chapter 23

NSO Chapter 23

(Day 1, Part 2)

I don’t own Pokemon. 

* * *

Kurt was the one to make the first move. Claws glowing purple, he charged towards the Umbreon at top speed. He closed the distance between him and Zenith in a matter of seconds, the latter still not moving at all. “Try not to die too quickly, freak.” Using Poison Jab, he thrust his claws forwards, only for them to pierce through thin air, Kurt stumbling from the momentum. Steadying himself, Kurt looked around in confusion, only to feel a gust of wind, and for Zenith to appear by the Nidoking’s side. 

"I wouldn't worry about that, Kurt. Try worrying about yourself first!" Zenith slammed a Shadow Ball into Kurt's side, the small black ball hitting with the force of a truck. Kurt was too slow to react to the speed of his opponent, much less dodge attacks. The Shadow Ball sent the Nidoking flipping head-over-heels in the air, sending up a huge plume of sand as he crashed back down on the ground.

Zenith struggled to see through the thick sand cloud that Kurt's landing had created, squinting his eyes so they wouldn't get irritated by stray sand particles. He tried to take a step forward and was immediately met with a foot to his flank.

Outside the 'arena', spectators clamoured for a better view of the fight. The sand cloud had lowered visibility, obscuring their view of the two fighters. They wondered how the battle was progressing, and their answer came in the form of Zenith flying out of the cloud, flank slamming against the ground to elicit a grunt from the Umbreon. The crowd scrambled out of the way as Zenith landed near them, trying to stay out his way and the danger he brought along with him. Hastily getting back onto his paws, Zenith had to react quickly, pushing himself away from the sudden purple tail that whipped through the cloud, the wind accompanying its speed blowing the airborne sand away. The crowd could now clearly see Zenith landing nimbly on his feet, two Dark Pulses in his paws, facing the Nidoking that was charging at him again.

Zenith launched a Dark Pulse at Kurt's feet and watched him leap over it, the Nidoking grinning as he did so. Zenith smiled slightly as his prediction came true, allowing him to put his plan into action. A black blur was the only indicator of Zenith’s actions, the Umbreon running towards Kurt, sliding under the Nidoking’s airborne body. As Kurt landed, looking back to watch the attack detonate a distance behind him, he realised that his target was now there as well, Zenith’s bright blue rings highlighting his silhouette against the explosion of darkness. Unfazed by his own attack, Zenith lobbed the other Dark Pulse at Kurt, who was still slowly processing the situation as he turned around. All eyes tracked the flight path of the shadowy blob as it arced through the air, landing on the dirt near Kurt’s feet, the Nidoking finally facing his opponent correctly. It had the same result as before. Kurt, caught unaware, flew through the air as the explosion and shockwave of the Dark Pulse blew him sky-high. However, unlike their previous fight, Zenith made no attempt to retreat back to safety. He had a brief window of opportunity and was not going to let it go to waste. 

Kurt landed on the ground, sending up the usual cloud of sand. Zenith sprinted towards the Nidoking, who had landed a distance away from him. Charging up another Dark Pulse, he launched it underneath his feet, the harmless shockwave allowing him to leap over the Nidoking’s body, which lay crumpled on the floor as a dizzy Kurt tried to regain his bearings. When he was directly above Kurt, Zenith made the most of Dialga's time powers, slowing time down to a nearly a standstill. As Zenith allowed himself to obey the laws of time, he continued with his flip extremely slowly, charging and firing Dark Pulses at his opponent as he did so. Like the Umbreon, the black projectiles obeyed the laws of time as well, slowly progressing towards their target after Zenith released them.

_I probably shouldn’t fire too many at Kurt. I want to injure him, not completely obliterate him. Let’s see… twenty should be enough._

**I still don’t see why you’re not just destroying the guy. You could have easily finished this fight minutes ago, with him begging for your mercy to stop.**

_Because I’m not like Kurt. I’m not going to abuse my power as much as he does. That’s why he’s going down._

Reverting the time flow, Zenith landed back on his paws, his flip completed. The Umbreon turned to the crowd, who were hardly paying attention to him, rather the barrage of attacks he had launched. He hit the deck and covered his ears, repeating the same to the other Pokemon who stared at him, wide-eyed realisation dawning on their features.

“Get down and cover your ears!”

Behind him, a dazed Kurt opened his eyes, trying to get back up again, only to see twenty Dark Pulses appearing out of nowhere, all flying towards him.

"Oh, fuc-"

The sound of twenty Dark Pulses detonating at once was deafening at close range, even through covered ears. The vibrations from the soundwaves shook Zenith, rattling him down to his bones, but it was nothing compared to the explosion. Clouds of sand and dust were thrown into the air upon the detonation of the Dark Pulses with their target, sending up a huge spray of sand and dust. The combined shockwaves hit everyone still standing, causing them to fall over. Kurt, who had taken the brunt of the Dark Pulses, was driven further into the dirt by the force of the attack.

As the spectators struggled to get up from the ground and untangle themselves from each other’s tangled bodies, Zenith stared up into the cloudless sky, eyes identifying the speck that was Kurt, tracking the Nidoking's progress as he plummeted towards the ground.

_Any chance he could survive that fall? I didn't expect my attacks to launch him up that high._

**Probably not. If you haven't realised it yet, you did do a lot of damage to him with his last attack.**

_Wait, what? That wasn’t supposed to happen! I have to find a way to save him!_

As Zenith looked around frantically for a way to get to Kurt, the crowd seemed to hold their breath in unison as the Nidoking fell, bracing themselves for the agonizing moment where Kurt would hit the ground.

But that moment never came.

When Kurt’s face was just a few metres from planting into hard dirt, two Pokemon in the crowd shot up into the air, launching themselves towards the Nidoking at blinding speeds. They grabbed his limbs, flying upwards to cancel the momentum. Flying lower, they dropped Kurt back into the arena and landed next to him. Now that they had stopped moving, Zenith could now see who they were. They were a Beedrill and a Pidgeot, probably Kurt's new cronies. And standing in between them was Kurt. His entire body was now covered in black ringed dents, showing the detonation rings of the Dark Pulses, and blood was trickling out of some of the dents. The Nidoking's face was now a mask of pure hatred and fury, an expression all too familiar to Zenith.

_Here comes the crazy. And he's got friends._

"KILL HIM!"

With that roar, all three Pokemon began charging in the direction of the Umbreon.

The Beedrill flew towards Zenith with a Twinneedle, forcing the Umbreon to roll to the right, the attack impaling the spot where he once stood, before flipping backwards, narrowly avoiding an Air Cutter from the Pidgeot flying overhead. With no time to rest, Zenith leapt into the air, dodging the Poison Jab of the Nidoking who charged below him. Even while airborne, the Umbreon had to manoeuvre to one side to prevent getting hit by the Pidgeot, who was trying to dive-bomb him with Brave Bird. But his action midair left him vulnerable to the other flying Pokemon, who tackled him from behind, driving him into face-first into the ground. Zenith coughed, trying to clear his airways of the sand that he had accidentally ingested. He rolled over, and groaned as the Beedrill's thin, pointed foot was forcefully placed on his exposed belly. Even though the Umbreon couldn’t feel much pain, he knew that his face should be stinging from being driven into the gritty sand, and all his muscles should be aching from the exertion. He could definitely feel himself wearing out, and although his situation looked grim, Zenith was still somewhat grateful for this brief moment to rest, despite the fact that it might be his last.

"Any last words?" The Beedrill pointed his two sharp stingers at the throat of the Pokemon that was pinned under him.

"Yeah, one." Zenith had a smile on his face.

"Cover."

If the Beedrill was surprised by the answer, he didn't show it. "An odd epitaph, but to each his own-" Before the Beedrill could finish his sentence, a blue beam struck the side of his thorax, blasting him off Zenith. As the Bug/Poison-type hit the ground, ice crystals formed quickly over his entire body, encasing him in a solid block of frozen water.

Zenith gratefully grabbed the paw that was extended towards him and was pulled back onto his paws by his favourite water type.

"You okay?"

The Umbreon looked to his right to see Kurt turn around and run back towards him, while on his left, the Pidgeot was flying at them as well, both of them picking up speed.

"Cleo, in times like this, I have to be better than okay." He grabbed the Vaporeon by the waist, ignoring her squeal of shock and surprise, before leaping back up into the air again. The other two charging Pokemon were now in a collision course towards each other, their target now above them. They were moving too fast a speed to stop themselves, and Zenith cringed as he heard a sickening crunch below him. He charged a Dark Pulse in his free paw and sent it flying below him, using the shockwave produced to get him and Cleo away from the landing on the two bodies that lay below them, concussed.

Landing back on the ground, a few metres away from his enemies, Zenith released his grip on Cleo. His ears pricked up slightly, swivelling around the makeshift arena as if detecting something his eyes would be too late to notice. 

"I have to be amazing!"

And with those words, he gently pushed Cleo backwards, while springing away from her at the same time. As the Vaporeon stumbled, landing on her behind, she caught a flash of brown and beige pass in between the two Eeveelutions. It was too fast for Cleo to react, and she could only sit there and watch as Zenith raised a paw, grabbing hold of the blur, before flying off with it. She could only hear the Umbreon’s soft voice of “I’ll be fine!” drifting down to her in the wind as he skyrocketed in the opposite direction. 

_**‘I have to be amazing?’ That line’s lame as all heck, but from Zenith… it sounded so cool!'** _

High in the air, Zenith was grabbing onto the feathers of the Pidgeot as the Flying-type Pokemon climbed higher and higher into the sky. Battling against various forces and air resistance, Zenith slowly climbed his way from the Pidgeot's tail feathers to his back. "Nice Substitute." He whispered into the side of the Pidgeot's head.

Back on the ground, the Pidgeot that lay on the ground next to Kurt flickered once, twice, before completely fading away into nothingness, while Cleo and the crowd gasped at the revelation of a decoy. However, the substitute was solid, so Kurt was still knocked out by the collision.

Zenith had taken control of the Pidgeot, using his weight to manoeuvre the direction of the Bird Pokemon's flight path, despite the Flying-type’s protests and futile attempts to do otherwise. 

_Well, here goes nothing._

**Wait, what are you doing?**

_Something stupid._

With that thought, Zenith leant forward, wrapping his paws around the Pidgeot's head, covering its eyes. The sudden shift in weight caused the Pidgeot to dip forward, its wings flapping furiously as it tried to support the uneven balance of mass, but to no avail, The Pidgeot began to tip forward as it began to fall, head facing the ground as it plummeted, Zenith holding on with all his might so as to not get blown off. He noticed that the Pidgeot's beak seemed to be moving, but his words were being drowned out by the roar of the wind.

**He seems to be pleading for his life, Zenith. You may not be able to hear him, but I can. He's literally begging you to let him live.**

_Hm. Maybe forcing him to dive at the ground at high speeds really scared him. I don't think he knows that I'm not going to kill him._

Zenith began to charge up a Dark Pulse throughout his descent, putting all he had into making it as big as he could in the few seconds he had. He placed the dark orb in his front paws, pointing them towards the ground, preparing for the right moment to release it. The audience watched with bated breath as the two Pokemon closed the distance between them and the ground in a matter of seconds, eager to see what Zenith would do. Cleo had already scrambled out of the arena and was also watching anxiously amongst the spectators.

At the same time, Kurt shook the stars out of his vision and saw one of his cronies falling towards the ground towards him. He didn't care about the Pidgeot, more about the Umbreon that was on its head, his eyes widening in fear at the growing black ball in his mouth. The Dark Pulse was now big enough to cover Zenith’s entire face and ears, and its rapid growth showed no signs of stopping. Kurt tried to crawl backwards, but it was too late to do that. 

Ten metres to the ground and Kurt.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

_Now!_

Zenith released his Dark Pulse towards the ground, straight into the face of Kurt, who was looking up. The explosion soon followed, but Zenith was more worried about the Pidgeot. Would the shockwave produced be strong enough to redirect the direction of the falling bird?

He need not have worried. The shockwave was stronger than expected, Zenith could feel its power as it passed through him, even though it didn't affect him. He leapt off the Pidgeot as the Bird Pokemon was knocked off his crash course towards the ground. The shockwave sent the Pidgeot flying to the right, where it crashed into the sand. It wasn't at the same speed as the plummet before, but it was still fast, since the Pidgeot lay still in a crumpled heap, dazed and motionless.

_Alright, that's him taken care off. Now to take care of myself._

Still airborne, Zenith quickly charged up another Dark Pulse, which he detonated under his feet, flipping through the air to land on... a mattress shaped rectangle made entirely out of water.

"Thanks for the comfy landing spot!" Zenith got off the water rectangle to join Cleo, and looked at his three opponents, all laying on the ground.

"It's time to end this."

He checked Kurt first. His eyes were in the shape of swirls, having taken multiple Dark Pulses, including a huge one to the face. The Pidgeot had fainted as well, knocked out cold for real this time by the heavy impact against the ground and the shock of the fall. The only Pokemon left was the Beedrill. He was beginning to thaw out, hands and head free, but as he saw Zenith step towards him, he quickly raised both his stinger-arms in the air.

"I yield! I yield! Please don't hurt me..." Halfway through his sentence, the Beedrill broke down, sobbing heavily into his stingers, whose pointed tips were ineffective in wiping away his tears. The crowd was silent as Zenith turned to face them, before bursting into applause and cheers. Looking at the faces in the crowd, Zenith saw the Manectric that had fainted through Kurt's attacks. Apparently, he had now recovered, and since he had caught Zenith's attention, he gestured at the Umbreon, and was pointing towards the middle of the arena.

_Oh yeah! The stone!_

Zenith walked to the middle of the 'arena', picking up the multicoloured stone from the ground, examining it closely. It wasn't cold like other stones but instead was warm in his paw. Even without looking at it, he could feel the stone radiate immense power, that was stored in the small colourful stone. As he held it to the light to look at it better, the crowd began a fresh round of applause and cheers, before beginning to slowly dissolve, now that everything exciting was over.

“Zenith! You did it!”

Storing the stone in his utility belt, Zenith turned to see Cleo run towards him, from a safe watching spot outside the arena. The explosion left by the Umbreon’s giant Dark Pulse had generated some wind that was still blowing around, scattering leaves and dust into the air. And as Cleo ran through all those, a giant smile on her face, her frills blowing gracefully in the wind, Zenith felt his heart skip a beat at how cute and pretty she looked. She was just like a young, energetic child, full of life and excitement at the simple, pure joy of running, exemplified even more so when she tackled him like Cliff did, raising one of his front paws into the air when he stood back up. 

"What are you doing?"

"Declaring you as the victor. You DID win, didn't you?"

Relief, happiness and a pinch of worry. Zenith’s heart basically melted when he saw her expression, emotions clear in her eyes. 

“Yeah, I guess I did. I couldn’t have done it without you, Cleo. thanks for helping me out of a few sticky spots.”

“It’s nothing. That’s what we do! Watch each other’s backs.”

Zenith and Cleo walked back towards the Torrent Residence, the sun beginning to set behind them. Cliff was sitting on the front lawn, already back fro school. A car pulled up in front of the house before reversing into the garage.

"So... first day of break, huh? Pretty eventful."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Cleo. I just hope the rest of the week isn't like this."

"Even if they are, we can choose not to participate. Now go home, Zenith. You're exhausted, and clearly need some R and R."

"I would like to crash at your place, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind. Actually, I would like it very much."


	24. Chapter 24

**NSO Chapter 24**

_(Day 2, Part 1)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Zenith was heading to Cleo's house once again. It had somewhat become a routine across those school-filled months, with the Umbreon leaving to meet his girlfriend at her house at noon, coming home in the evening or staying over. The fight yesterday had strengthened the bond between the duo tremendously, and with all the spare time they had spent together before, the chemistry between them now was incredible.

Cleo was already sitting on her front porch, waiting for him.

"You're later than usual."

"I had... something to do first." Zenith's thoughts flashed back to his workshop in the garage, and the product that had he had yet to complete. "Anyways, I'm here now."

Cleo stretched lazily; jaws wide open in a yawn. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"You know those sync moves we've seen on TV, right?"

Those two words caught the Vaporeon's attention. Her slouched position shot up straight along with her frills, curiosity piqued. She always loved watching all those flashy, powerful moves being used in the Pasio tournaments. "Yeah…?"

"So, I thought we could practice team moves, so we can have each other's backs if we get into another battle."

"Ooh, that sounds fun."

"I hope it'll be. Wanna begin?"

A few hours later, and Zenith launched himself into the air with a Dark Pulse, landing neatly on the lawn. "I think we can stop here. We've practiced enough, and I'm pretty confident in these 5 team moves we have. Want to take a well-earned rest."

Hearing the Umbreon's words, Cleo flumped backwards to lie on the grass, chest rising and falling heavily from the exertion her body experienced in the past few hours. Zenith soon joined the Vaporeon, sitting next to her on the lush green grass, propping himself up with his front paws, Together, they watched the slow descent of the sun as it disappeared from view, dipping behind the buildings of the city, illuminating the sky in a reddish glow as it did so. While looking into the distance, Zenith heard Cleo prop herself up into a sitting position as well, before laying her head to rest against Zenith's shoulder. Together, they stared at the sky as it gradually turned from a red evening hue into a pitch-black night, revealing the multiple shining stars concealed during the day.

The duo stayed in that position for quite some time, enjoying each other's company in silence. Suddenly the both of them were forced to shield their eyes as a pair of headlights shone onto them, bathing the two in blinding white light as their vision adjusted to the sudden change in brightness.

"I think your sister's home."

The light-blue Pokemon got out of the car as it backed into the garage, walking towards the two Eeveelutions. "Well, look who it is! My favourite sister with my favourite Umbreon!"

"Work was killer. We had to handle annoying customers, and now we're all stressed out. Hope you guys had a better day than we did."

"Well, Zenith and I practiced battle moves. It was tiring, but I guess it can count as a better use of our time."

"Battle moves?" All three Eeveelutions jumped at the sudden voice, the Lucario just appearing behind them, now visible in the warm glow of a porch light. "Why not put them to the test in a little friendly battle?"

Zenith sprung to his feet and nodded in agreement. "Sure, but if only Cleo's okay with it too."

This just left the Vaporeon, who was sweating under the expectant stares of the other three Pokemon. She looked nervously to Zenith, who gave a paws-up and an encouraging smile. Sighing, she got onto her paws slowly, shaking out her body to remove any dirt or grass, along with her anxieties. "W-well, I guess it does sound... fun…and even if I disagree, I'm vastly outvoted."

"You know, Cleo, are you sure you want to do this?" Noticing Cleo's nervous behaviour, Zenith stopped mid-stride as Zoey and Julley took their sides, going back to the Vaporeon's side. In his excitement and anticipation for a battle, he hadn't considered how she really felt about this, even after all the peer pressure from everyone.

"Maybe we could do this some other time. You know, after we train a bit more. I'm sure they won't mind."

A brief look of consideration crossed Cleo's face, but Zenith saw the Vaporeon's blue pupils flicker to something out of his field of view. Instantly, her gaze hardened, all traces of worry gone from her features.

"I'm fine, Zenith. Let's do this." Determination shone in her eyes as she looked back into Zenith's red ones.

"But where can we even fight? Mom's going to be mad if we destroy the lawn."

"I was going to drive you guys to a nearby battling arena, but will your mom allow that, Zenith… Zenith?"

Julley looked back, and others followed his gaze to look at the Umbreon. He was rummaging around in one of the bushes on the front lawn, pushing aside branches and leaves in his fervent search. At last, he had found what he had been looking for. It was a rectangular box on a retractable cord attached into the dirt, and as the Umbreon opened it, everyone could see the glowing red button contained inside. Looking back at the three other Pokemon watching him in confusion, Zenith motioned for them to stand away from the centre of the lawn, before pushing the button.

Without warning, a giant circle seemed to be cut into the lawn as the grass within the circle descended a centimetre below the ground. The sound of turning gears could be heard, and the other three Pokemon standing on the lawn gaped in awe as the circle of grass did a complete 180 flip, sending loose soil and grass raining down into the pitch-black hole that was revealed during the turning. The other side was just rubber flooring, like the floor of a boxing ring. Embedded in the middle of the latex was a small cylindrical machine, like the ones found in the Battle Room.

As the flip side of the circle locked itself into place with a soft click, Zenith walked over to the machine and pressed a button on its side. The screen flickered for a moment, before turning itself on. There were words on the bright blue screen, and they read:

**BATTLE ARENA v1.0.23- FULLY OPERATIONAL**

A beam of green light spread outwards from the base of the machine until it covered the entire base of the battle arena. There was a moment's pause, and the light retracted itself back into the machine, leaving behind a terrain. The base of the arena was now covered in thick sand, and there was now a small stream that ran through the middle of the arena, with the machine in the dead centre.

A bright blue beacon of light shot out from the top of the cylindrical machine. More beams spread outwards from the single beacon, forming a dome around the circle. Once the process was completed, a smooth female voice sounded out from the machine.

"Battle Arena ready. Please adjust settings. Pokemon may now enter the arena."

Zenith fiddled with the controls on the machine, before joining the others, who had already stepped through the dome and into the arena. Julley had scooped up a pawful of the sand and was letting it trickle through the gaps in his paws, while Cleo floated a small ball of water from the stream in front of her, both perplexed in how the machine could create the real deals that they held in front of their faces.

"Four Pokemon have entered the arena. Battle type: Double Friendly Battle. Engaging shields."

"Hey, Zenith. Why is there an arena underneath our front lawn, and how come you know about it?"

"The previous occupants of this house were avid battlers, so they built this arena under the lawn. When they moved out, they left it here, and I had ample time to figure out how to activate and use it before you guys came."

"Confirmation of instructions. Battle type: Friendly Double Battle. Time limit: 10 minutes. Objective for both teams: Battle until the end of the time limit."

Zoey and Julley took one end of the arena, while Zenith and Cleo took the other, the stream separating the two teams. As they took their respective battle stances, the voice of the machine sounded out once more.

"Both teams ready. Battle starting in Three. Two. One."

"BEEP!"


	25. Chapter 25

**NSO Chapter 25**

_(Day 2, Part 1)_

I don’t own Pokemon. 

* * *

**BEEP!**

A giant holographic timer appeared in the air, causing the Pokemon below it to look up instinctively as it caught their eyes. A ‘10:00’ appeared on the digital timer, which started to count down. 

9:59

9:58

**Look at you. Getting into another fight already. Preparing for the future, eh?**

_Firstly, I don’t get into fights. Secondly, this is a friendly battle. We have fun, practice battle moves, and when the time limit’s up, we go in for dinner. And what’s that about my fut- whoah!_

Zenith’s thoughts were cut off as a flurry of blue beside him caught his attention. Cleo leapt into the small stream to face off against her two opponents, who were running towards the Vaporeon. Zenith turned to follow, but a wall of ice erupted in front of him, cutting off his path. The frozen water wall, courtesy of Zoey, acted like a partition, splitting the arena in half. Looking to his right, Zenith saw the silhouette of the Pokemon in front of him, the bright blue light of the dome shield providing enough illumination to see. 

Julley.

_Looks like divide and conquer._

The Lucario didn’t allow Zenith any time to come up with a plan, immediately firing an Aura Sphere before charging towards the Dark-type. Now acting on pure instinct, Zenith jumped to the side to avoid the projectile, before dropping and rolling to the left as a Bullet Punch from Julley whistled above his head. The Lucario didn’t let up, continuing his rain of punches onto Zenith. The Dark-type was now a blur as he dodged the flurry of punches, but was unable ro fins an opening to attack.

_I have to counterattack… sooner or later one of his attacks are going to-_

Zenith’s thoughts became a reality as one of Julley’s punches managed to slip through the Umbreon’s guard, catching him in the chest and sending him flying. While airborne, the Umbreon was able to see past the ice wall and the battle that was taking place on the other side. Cleo was in the stream, while her sister stood on the shore, both Pokemon trading and avoiding attacks. He wanted to help his partner, but he seemed to have bigger problems to deal with right now. Landing on the ground with a grunt, Zenith barely had time to get up before Julley's shadow was looming over him.

With adrenaline coursing rapidly through his veins, Zenith rolled to the side as a Bullet Punch drove a deep hole in the sandy ground where he once laid. As Julley tried to tug his fist out of the hole it had created, the Umbreon saw his chance. Raising both hind legs, Zenith kicked the Lucario in the chest, sending him flying to the opposite side of the arena. As Julley got to his paws, Zenith did the same, charging up a Dark Pulse in his jaws, while the Lucario charged up an Aura Sphere between his paws.

8:27

8:26

Letting his Dark Pulse go, Zenith ran towards the Fighting/Steel-type Pokemon, Julley doing the same with his Aura Sphere. As the two Pokemon charged at each other, their projectiles leading the way, Zenith slowed time down.

The world now in slow-motion, the Umbreon slid forward on the ground, belly fur brushing sand as he went under the two colliding spheres. He could see Julley's legs changing direction, veering left to fake out his charge. Aiming for Julley's legs, Zenith slide-tackled the Lucario, taking him by surprise. He had expected a head-on confrontation with the Umbreon, not a sneak attack.

Julley's legs crumpled beneath him at the suprise attack, sending the Lucario sprawling into the sand. Zenith stood back up as the two attacks behind him smashed into each other. His Dark Pulse couldn't withstand the pure power of the Aura Sphere, the blue ball of light punching a hole straight through the dark sphere.

Zenith had been counting on that. With the Aura Sphere now out of the way, there was nothing he feared from his own attack. As the Dark Pulse was punctured, it detonated, sending out its usual shockwave. And as it did, Zenith had already leapt above the exploding black ball, utilising his time powers to their fullest. The shockwave propelled the Umbreon even higher into the air, where he landed silently on the top of the ice wall.

The battle taking place in front of him was intense. Zoey was a whirlwind of snow, flawlessly blasting out beams and shards of ice at the Vaporeon in the stream. It was everything Cleo could do to block the Glaceon's attacks, using water from the stream to intercept the freezing beams heading her way. It seemed like Cleo needed assistance, and fast.

Zoey had her back to the wall of ice she had created, meaning that she was oblivious to Zenith's presence. Cleo, however, was not. She had noticed the Umbreon ever since he had landed on the ice wall, and saw his eyes flicker blue momentarily.

_1._

The word was as clear as if he had whispered it into her ear. She dodged to one side, avoiding an Aurora Beam as she led her sister further away from the ice wall. Meanwhile, Julley had picked himself back up from the ground, looking around in confusion as he tried to find his Dark-type opponent. 

Cleo shot an Ice Beam at Zoey, who took the hit, barely flinching as she did so.

"What do you think that would do, little sis?" The Glaceon taunted Cleo, with a cold smile on her face. Multiple ice crystals appeared beside her, sharp ends all pointing at the Vaporeon.

But Cleo had an equally wide smile on her face as she gave her answer.

"Distract you."

At that same moment, cracks slowly formed on the ice wall, growing bigger until a Double Kick managed to break a hole in the thick sheet of ice. As Julley stepped through the hole, he saw Zenith standing behind Zoey, a Dark Pulse charged up in his mouth. Zoey turned around as well, momentarily distracted by the sound of her ice cracking, to stare directly at a dark orb that was growing at an increasing rate.

Both Julley and Zoey tried to move, Julley trying to reach Zoey, and Zoey trying to move out of the way, but both reacted a second too late.

The Dark Pulse hit the ground around Zoey's feet, sending sand flying up into the air with its detonation, along with the Glaceon. Simultaneously, Cleo shot out an Ice Beam from her mouth, hitting her sister once more to change her course in midair, where Zoey tumbled head over heels before landing in the arms of Julley.

7:01

7:00

6:59

Zenith stood by Cleo's side as Julley let Zoey down gently. They were now in the exact same position when they had first started, although that didn't last long. Julley ran at the Umbreon once more, making use of his type's advantages as much as possible.

Zenith was quick on his feet as he maneuvered around the barrage of Aura Spheres thrown at him by Julley, while slowly charging up a Shadow Ball in his mouth. Slowly but steadily, the Umbreon twisted, turned and rolled, dodging attacks as he closed the distance between him and his opponent, waiting for a chance to strike.

And there it was. Julley, tuckered out from his endless stream of attacks, leapt backwards so that he could take a breather for a second. Zenith, sensing an opening, fired the basketball-sized Shadow Ball into the Lucario's chest. As Julley was pushed backwards by the shadowy blob, Zenith raced up to him, a Dark Pulse already charged up. Sliding on the ground, the Umbreon placed the dark orb on the base of his foot, kicking upwards as hard as he could, catching Julley in the chest. The impact and detonation of the Dark Pulse, combined with the added force of the kick, sent the Lucario flying through the air again. Face-planting back on the ground with a thump, Julley slid a few metres before stopping, body motionless.

_Did I knock him out? I didn't want to do that! I-I have to check if he's okay..._

Worried, Zenith made his way to the Julley's side, cautiously prodding the Lucario with a paw.

"Hey, man, are you oka-"

He saw the smile before he saw the fist.

Zenith managed to dodge the first Bullet Punch that was thrown at him, but his momentary surprise left him vulnerable to Julley's next attack. The Lucario's spiked paw slammed into the Umbreon's jaw, before shooting skyward, launching Zenith high into the air with a Sky Uppercut.

Julley really did not hold back. With that much force put into the punch, Zenith flew so high, he hit the top of the forcefield dome, before plummeting back down towards the ground, jaw aching, too stunned with shock to do anything.

**Wow. You really fell for it.**

_I... uh... wha..._

**Still too stunned? Never mind.**

In the air, Zenith's dark pelt blended him in with the black night sky, his blue rings now streaks as he fell at high speeds, towards the sandy arena floor.

The dome was quite big, and the distance between the top and the ground was quite far. It was a slow fall for Zenith, and it was a good thing too. It gave him time to regain his bearings and Cleo enough time to spot him in the inky darkness of the night. Julley, now back on his feet, had now joined Zoey in battle against the Vaporeon, who was currently doing a good job of keeping them at bay. But for how much longer?

Cleo was trying to keep her cool as she fended off Zoey and Julley with a wall of water, while trying to come up with a plan in rescuing her boyfriend at the same time. Needless to say, she was under immense pressure. Taking a fall like that would knock out, or at least weaken Zenith enough to be finished off easily by both of their opponents. And speaking of being finished off, Cleo knew her defense was already weakening under the combined strength of the attacks of Zoey and Julley. She would most definitely lose if she kept facing these two Pokemon alone, and she didn't want to lose. She had already chalked up a large number of losses against Zoey in many things in the past, and she didn't want this to be the same as before.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Cleo changed her wall of water to fly forwards in a spiral, spinning like a drill. This caused Zoey and Julley to leap out of the way to avoid getting perforated, giving Cleo the perfect chance to run past the two of them, and leap into the stream.

Zenith was no longer dazed, but still falling.

_Wow. This is a really long fall._

**I know, right? I haven't even been slowing time down or anything. What are you going to do once you hit the ground?**

_I don't need to worry about hitting the ground._

**Wait, why-oh.**

A giant paw erupted from the stream, catching the falling Zenith in midair, the water softening and cushioning his fall as it lowered him to stand knee-deep in the rushing water.

"Nice save. Now let's try that third combo. That Sky Uppercut really took a lot out of me."

"Good idea. We need to rest up. Stall for a while. I can't say that this was fun, but we have to win!"

"This isn't about winning..."

As Julley and Zoey ran towards the duo in the lake, Cleo threw up a tall wall of water that surrounded her and Zenith at the same time an Ice Beam left Zoey's mouth, determined to freeze anything it touched. The light-blue beam struck the water wall, and ice crystals spread out from the place it hit, quickly turning the wall of water into a thick sheet of ice that protected the two Pokemon hiding behind it.

4:18

4:17

4:16

**Lucky break.**

_Don’t jinx the wall._

Zenith had no time to reply. The clouds had moved, revealing a full, white moon. Its pure white moonlight cut through the darkness of the night, bathing the entire arena in a bright glow. Zenith's rings glowed bright blue as he focused the moonlight onto his body, and began to feel better as his wounds and injuries slowly healed themselves with the healing power of a Moonlight. Beside him, Cleo used Aqua Ring. The rushing water of the stream moving too fast to be frozen by the Ice Beam, but it was still very cold. Forming a ring with the water, running it through herself and the Umbreon beside her. Zenith sighed in relief as the frigid water refreshed him, numbing his body even further against probably stinging pain from his injuries.

Healed back to fighting form, the Water-Dark duo turned their attention back to their opponents- and just in time. The two of them threw themselves in different directions to avoid the Lucario that had just leapt over the wall, courtesy of his paw spikes that allowed him to climb it. Zenith and Cleo scrambled back to their feet as multiple icicles penetrated the wall of frozen water, shattering it into small pieces. Out of the wreckage stepped out Zoey, a smirk on her face.

"Cleo, Cleo, Cleo..." Zoey taunted her younger sister, joining Julley in advancing towards Zenith and Cleo, who hesitantly took a step backwards.

The Glaceon and Lucario immediately unleashed a flurry of different moves all at once, driving the dodging and blocking Zenith and Cleo towards the edge of the dome. Both Eeveelutions could only defend, their aggressive opponents leaving no chance for them to attack.

**Wow. These guys are SUPER competitive.**

_Tell me about it. This wasn't supposed to be a knockout bout! The only way to 'win' now is to survive till..._

The Umbreon sidestepped a Mach Punch, turning and hitting Julley backwards with his tail, while glancing up at the holographic clock, hoping for good news.

2:01

2:00

1:59

Zenith's hopes were dashed. He and Cleo were good, but they couldn't last two minutes against the relentless fury and drive from their attackers. Zenith quickly flattened himself to the ground as an Ice Beam flew over his head. Cleo, however, was not as lucky. She was busy sidestepping Julley's attacks, allowing the Ice Beam to hit her in the flank, freezing the water type into a giant ice block, a shocked look still on her face. Julley then used a Bullet Punch on the frozen Vaporeon, breaking the ice block in one swift blow, striking Cleo and launching her out the other side of the block. She flew through the air, hitting the dome wall at high speeds before landing on the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Cleo!" Twisting his body to face her, Zenith lashed out with his hind legs, catching Zoey in the chin and sending her sprawling backwards. He sprinted towards the Vaporeon, unleashing a Dark Pulse at the Lucario charging towards him as he did so. The Dark Pulse exploded at Julley's feet, Zenith elbowing him to the side as the Lucario fell. With those two momentarily distracted, Zenith managed to reach Cleo's side.

Giving her a once-over, Zenith heaved a sigh of relief. Her pulse was still steady and strong, while her breathing was fine. She had no visible major injuries, save for a large bruise on her side, but other than that, the Vaporeon had only been knocked unconscious.

"You're, Zenith." The Umbreon whipped his head around to see both of his opponents standing behind him, triumphant looks on their faces. Zoey was still rubbing her chin, so Zenith took that as a win.

"You can kick, I'll give you that," Zoey continued. "But just give up now. Even in friendly competitions, someone still has to win, and with Cleo down, you don't stand a chance against the two of us."

_Why, why would they-_

**Competition brings out a lot out of Pokemon, Zenith. And remember, YOU are playing on your own set of 'friendly competition' rules, while these guys were going all out.**

_Well, I guess the only way to stop them is if time...ran...out._

**I see what you're getting at. I'm on it, but you'll have to stall.**

_It's worth a shot. We have to snap them out of their competitive trance!_

**We? I like the sound of that.**

The entire mental exchange took place in the time span of two seconds, and even during those two seconds, Zenith was fending off attacks from Julley and Zoey. But he couldn't defend himself for long. Julley had tripped the paws of the Umbreon, Zoey freezing his limbs to the ground with Ice Beams. The Lucario placed a paw below Zenith's chin, preparing for a final Sky Uppercut on the Umbreon.

"Nothing personal, Zenith. We just need to win." There was a smile on Zoey's face, but it was another cold one, similar to her words.

"This IS personal!" Zenith spat back at the two Pokemon before him. "This was supposed to be a friendly match! A friendly exchange of moves and show of skills! No one was supposed to get knocked out, we were just supposed to have fun!"

**Great job. Time should be up in three normal seconds.**

In those few seconds, Zoey and Julley looked at each other, as if contemplating Zenith's words. Was that a flash of guilt that crossed their faces, a feeling of remorse for being too competitive in a simple, friendly, match? Well, whatever it was, it was gone now, replaced by pure competitiveness, and elation for their potential victory. Julley pulled his fist back, muscles tensing as he prepared to put all he had into that one punch. Unable to dissuade the duo, Zenith braced himself for the attack, preparing for darkness if his plan didn't work out.

**BEEP!**

Zenith sighed as Zoey and Julley looked around in confusion and surprise at the sudden noise.

The feminine voice sounded out once more from the machine.

"Time limit reached. Friendly match ended. Now calming battlefield."

The soft lyrics of a Jigglypuff's Song started to play out from the unseen speakers of the machine, accompanied by Grasswhistle as background music.

The song was too soft to put any normal Pokemon to sleep, since its only function was to calm the high emotions after a battle. But to the three still conscious, tired Pokemon in the arena, it was a lullaby. The expressions on Zoey and Julley's faces softened, their fierce, competitive looks being replaced by calm, sleepy ones. The song continued to play for a few more minutes, and by the time the music cut off, all three worn-out Pokemon were now slumbering peacefully on the arena floor.

-Time skip-

Cleo awoke from her unconscious state, shaking her head to clear her vision of stars and bright lights, trying to make sense of everything happening around her. But the sight of the three sleeping Pokemon in front of her confused her even more.

"What just happened here?" She mumbled to herself.


	26. Chapter 26

**NSO Chapter 26**

_(Day 2, Part 3)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Dinner was oddly silent compared to the chaotic event that had played out before it. All four Pokemon made no move to talk, the only sound being the clink of utensils as they reached for more food to fill the appetites that they had worked up. Janice Torrent knew how to read the atmosphere of a room, and decided to keep her lips sealed as well.

After the battle had ended with Zenith, Zoey and Julley falling asleep, Cleo had dragged their sleeping bodies to the outside of the circular area, laying them side by side, before pushing a button on the arena machine to return the front lawn to its original, grassy state. The other three Pokemon had woken up a few minutes later, by Janice announcing dinner. They couldn't remember the battle they had participated in, the only thing that stayed with them from their fight being their large appetite that begged to be filled. Cleo had no intention of reminding them, since she was knocked out during the fight and had no idea of its outcome.

**Hey there, champ.**

Zenith's mind was working furiously as he struggled to recall his lost memories, only to draw up a blank. How had he ended up on the front lawn, besides Zoey and Julley, with Cleo sitting next to him with a concerned gaze? He couldn't have... no. He wouldn't have done that. His mind was so concentrated on trying to remember that the sudden voice in his head startled him. He jumped in surprise, and the spoon he was holding dropped out of his paw, clattering on the table.

Picking up his silverware, Zenith looked up at the other Pokemon sitting at the table. The Umbreon's gaze was met with worried ones in his direction from Janice and Cleo. Julley and Zoey hadn't noticed the Umbreon's sudden motions, and were clearly deep in thought, clearly wondering about how they had spent their past ten minutes, just as Zenith had done before. Cliff was playing with his peas, uninterested in what was going on. Waving a paw at the anxious looks from the Fire and Water-types, Zenith returned to his meal, and his mental conversation.

_What?_

**Pretty outstanding performance back there. You really showed it to them... till the end. But let's not talk about that.**

_What performance? And show myself to who?_

**You mean, you don't remember the fight?**

_What fight?_

**Wow. That arena machine is good. Hold on. I'm pretty sure I recorded it down somewhere...**

And with that thought-sentence, Zenith was plunged into a flashback, a slightly sped-up, third-person view of the friendly battle he had taken part in.

At the dinner table, Zenith had been reaching across the table to get more Tauros steak, when he suddenly froze mid-action, the upper half of his body suspended in mid-air. Now, this got the attention at everyone at the table.

"Uh, Zenith?"

While Zenith was spacing out on the outside, on the inside, he was standing on a floating platform, watching the past battle that played out below him.

 **Impressive, isn't it?** Dialga's voice was still disembodied, even in Zenith's mind.

 _Somewhat._ Zenith was now watching himself get sleepy from the mouth from the arena machine, along with Zoey and Julley.

**I'm going to return you back into your physical state of mind. Remember, keep your balance.**

_What do you me-agh!_

With a sickening lurch, Zenith felt himself regain control of his body once more. In the position he was currently in, he windmilled his arms for a few seconds, trying to not fall onto Janice's home-cooked food. When he managed to regain his balance, he sat back down in his chair, abs hurting from the exertion.

A moment of silence passed, where everyone stared at each other awkwardly, before Cleo spoke up. "Zenith, are... you alright? You were kind of... spacing out there."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...remembered something."

"For five minutes? Julley literally built a house of cards on your head!"

Looking around, Zenith now noticed many cards scattered on the floor around him. The Lucario had a sheepish look on his face, looking down on the ground to avoid eye contact with the Dark-type. Setting that fact aside, Zenith redirected his attention back at Cleo.

"Uh... it was a long memory. I'll explain later."

"...If you say so."

A few more minutes passed till the end of dinner, in which the Torrent family realised Zenith's stomach was like that of a Guzzlord's, which he proved by finishing off all the leftovers.

-Time skip-

"So, what did you remember?"

Cleo and Zenith were sitting on the floor in the water-type's room, with said Vaporeon staring at the Umbreon with piqued interest.

"Di-I remembered the battle, that's all." Zenith stretched his paws out as his jaws widened in a huge yawn. The fatigue from the fight was starting to catch up to him.

"Oh. I'm guessing we didn't win? I was knocked out halfway through, and when I awoke, all I saw were the three of you unconscious."

"Nah. It was a tie. I held out until the arena machine put us to sleep. By the way, do you know how competitive your sister is?"

"Not until we fought her. I mean, she was always competitive, but that was a whole new level."

"So... should I tell them about the battle? I don't think they've remembered it yet..."

"NO!" Cleo exclaimed immediately, her fur spiking up. But noticing Zenith's surprised reaction to her own, she caught herself quickly, looking away to hide her embarrassment at her sudden outburst.

Zenith could only watch Cleo in confusion. He had never seen her so aggravated about anything before. And as the Vaporeon broke eye contact with Zenith to stare at the pattern of her bedsheets, thousands of questions raced through the Umbreon's mind, but none of them were voiced out, so as to prevent the current situation from worsening.

_What should I do? Should I try to comfort her, or let her calm herself down? Dialga, any ideas?_

**I'm clueless as you are on this. I'm the god of time, not relationships.**

From the corner of her eye, Cleo could see that the Umbreon sitting in front of her was clearly at a loss. He extended a paw her shoulder, only for him to draw it back, shaking his head as if regretting the decision.

"Okay... I won't tell them. I don't there's a reason to. After all, we wanted to practice our team-up moves, and that's what we managed to do. They don't need to know anything, right?" Zenith decided on a placating response and sighed in relief as Cleo looked back up to meet his gaze again, spikes of water retracting back into her body. The Vaporeon seemed to be thinking for a moment, before moving to sit on the side of her bed, hind legs dangling off the edge, staring at the bookshelf across her. There was another brief moment of silence before Cleo started to speak.

"Yeah... they don't need to know. Sorry about the outburst earlier, Zenith. To be honest, I have some very bad experiences with competition. I... I can't cope with it very well." As Cleo spoke, Zenith moved to sit next beside her, placing an arm on her back, patting the Vaporeon gently. "My sister was always determined to beat me in everything... and she always succeeded. No matter how hard I tried, or what competition it was, Zoey would always beat me. So if she knows that she beat me again, and in battling, no less..." Cleo's head drooped in sadness, and Zenith's heart ached at the sight. It was rare to see the normally cheerful Vaporeon so down in the dumps.

"It's okay, Cleo. It really must've taken a lot for you to tell me all of this. But don't worry, I won't tell them about the fight. In fact, if you must, I can help you get better, so next time you can beat Zoey in anything she chooses!"

"Y-you'd really do all that for me?"

"Now how 'bout a hug?"

"You are full of surprises, Zenith."


	27. Chapter 27

**NSO Chapter 27**

_(Day 2, Bonus Chapter)_

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

As the two Eeveelutions embraced, in the room at the end of the hallway, a Glaceon and a Lucario were laying on a bed, staring at a ceiling.

"...and I even managed to beat Cleo in swimming! Swimming!"

"That's cool and all, babe, but don't you think that you’re being a it too competitive, like during... the... fight..."

Julley's words trailed off into silence, and Zoey turned to look at him in confusion.

"What's up, Julley?"

"I just remembered."

"Remembered wha- oh. Tell me."

-Time Skip-

“And as we were about to finish off Zenith, the machine played some kind of song that made us fall asleep. I guess they did something to make us forget the battle, too. Well, that’s all I can remember. Any thoughts, Zoey?”

"..."

"Zoey?"

Now it was the Lucario who turned to look at his girlfriend. The Glaceon was staring into space, her expression unreadable.

"Uh... Zoey?"

"Hm?"

"About the fight..."

"Oh, that? I think we should forget about it. I mean, they must have erased it from our memories for a reason, right?"

"Wow. That's... surprising."

"What do you mean?" Julley shifted uncomfortably at Zoey's words, feeling the air around him getting slightly chillier. Well, he went this far, didn't he? There was no backing out now.

"Well... no offence, but I... kind of expected you to ask me to repeat the part where we knocked out Cleo, and then brag to her that you managed to beat her in a battle." Julley winced as his words left his mouth, realising how insensitive he had sounded. He expected a furious rebuttal from Zoey, and was confused when none came.

Zoey pondered Julley's words for quite some time. She HAD wanted to brag to Cleo about her triumph over the Water-type when it has first mentioned, but the more Julley talked about the battle, describing everything they had done to try and win, the knot of guilt in the Glaceon became more and more evident to her, and she couldn't help but think of all those little 'competitions' she had over the years... with Cleo.

Poor Cleo. How much had her sister gone through, all those challenges, those crushing defeats, and the cold, mocking taunts. So many taunts. And for so many years. And Cleo had put up with her the entire time. Forget Julley being insensitive. She was the real heartless Pokemon here.

Maybe it was time for a change.

"You know what, Julley? You're right. Maybe we ARE a tad too competitive. It's starting to negatively affect Pokémon close to us."

_Especially my poor, sweet sister. How did I not notice this until now?_

"So...um... let's just promise to be less... competitive...?" The Lucario asked the question cautiously. He knew he could've easily used Psychic to peer into Zoey's mind and sense her emotions, but he was not going to take that risk again. Not after what had happened last time.

"That... would be nice." Zoey seemed to cheer up slightly, albeit still looking somewhat distracted.

Julley sighed. He and Zoey had worked out most of the kinks of their relationship by now, but the Glaceon's emotions had always been hard for him to make out. The nature of a Glaceon were a lot like their typing- a cold and reclusive attitude. It took a long time for her to warm up to Julley, the Lucario eventually melting her icy exterior and getting to really know her. However, during times of immense sadness or extreme stress, Zoey would rebuild the mental ice walls around her emotions, concealing them from others and reverting into her previous withdrawn self.

And like always, Julley would always help to thaw her out. 

Scooting over to Zoey's side of the bed, he approached the Glaceon from the behind, Zoey leaning halfway off the side of the bed, an unexpressive look on her face as she stared on the floor. He placed both paws on the Glaceon's shoulders, nuzzling his head onto a shoulder so one of Zoey's teal dangles were draped over his snout.

"C'mon, babe," he crooned. "Please don't give me the... cold shoulder?"

No response. And Zoey always loved his lame puns. Guess he would have to try harder.

"Zoey, you can't keep concealing yourself like this when you've got worries." Julley's voice was barely a whisper as he spoke into the Glaceon's ear. "Remember what I told you on that night?"

There was a small smile on Zoey's face as she replied. "Pizza is the best food ever?"

Julley gave a small chuckle in relief. The pun had worked after all.

"Okay, I did say that," He admitted. "But what did I say? When we were on the roof? Did you remember that?"

He felt Zoey’s head give a little nod.

"Y-you said that we could face anything, as long as we were together."

"And I meant every single word of it. So how are you feeling now, Zoey?"

"Way better. Thanks, Julley." Zoey buried her face into the Lucario's fur, Zoey enjoying his floof, and Julley enjoying her familiar chill. "That memory got me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside again, just like before. I guess it was enough for me to thaw out."

"Happy to help. I'm just glad you're you again. And speaking of something related to warmth..."

"Julley. I told you. It's not for months."

"So... should I be happy, or...?"

There was a sigh from an exasperated Zoey, who threw a pillow at the figure beside her, the Lucario ducking to avoid the flying cushion.

"Let's just get some sleep."

"Okay then. Goodnight, Zoey."

"Goodnight, Julley."


	28. Chapter 28

**NSO Chapter 28**

_(Day 3, Part 1)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Cleo lay on her bed, staring at the empty spot where Zenith had slept yesterday, now empty. In its place was a note, which Cleo had already read. The words written on it were barely legible, scribbled on messily with a pen as if the Umbreon had made the note in a hurry.

**Have urgent business to deal with.**

**Be back v soon.**

Looking around, Cleo noticed that her once closed bedroom window was now wide open. Clearly, the Umbreon had chosen the silent option to exit the house so as to not wake the Vaporeon from her slumber, her bedroom door always creaked loudly when it was opened. Smiling to herself at Zenith's thoughtfulness, Cleo got up to shut the window, before flopping back onto the comfort of her bed.

Cleo didn't mind Zenith's sudden disappearance. It gave her time to think about all the things that had happened to her since her move into this town. Especially the relationship status she had gained with Zenith. She regretted none of the choices she had made so far, but it always seemed that the two of them were...missing something. Unable to think of an answer immediately, Cleo's mind began to wander in newfound boredom, trying to find something to do. Glancing around her room, the Vaporeon's eyes finally landed on her bookshelf, filled to the brim with numerous romance novels.

_That's it._

_Romance._

But would romance with Zenith make their relationship better? That one question remained in Cleo's mind as she closed her eyes, imagining scenarios from her many novels, but with her and Zenith enjoying those romantic moments instead of the books' main characters. On one paw, they would make their relationship seem more of a... relationship, but on the other paw…

Cleo tried to come up with an effective argument to her own points, but her mind was already working against her, drowning her out with more imaginary scenarios, each more inappropriate than the last, all stemming from the books that the Vaporeon kept hidden when Zenith was around. Cleo was pretty sure that she was dreaming by this point, but she didn't care anymore. There was something odd, though. As the scenarios changed at their rapid pace, they changed with a muffled thump. The thumps slowly grew louder and louder, until some part of her subconscious realised that the sound must be coming from the world outside her dreams.

Cleo awoke groggily, still reluctant to leave her dreamscape. She found herself laying face-first on her bedroom floor, which left her confused for her moment, before deducing that she must have fallen off her bed in one of her more... intimate scenes.

She may have figured that part out, but the thumping still continued. It seemed like it was coming from... in front of her? The water-type raised her head, and her eyes widened with shock and surprise, all sleepiness now dispelled.

It was Zenith. He was standing on the window ledge, hammering on the thick pane of glass. The Umbreon seemed to be shouting, most likely calling out her name, but his words could not be heard through the window. Cleo scrambled to her paws and rushed to her windowsill, and released that it was latched shut by force of habit, restricting Zenith's normally easy access into her room. By now, Zenith had stopped pounding on the window but was still staring at Cleo through worried eyes. As Cleo unlatched and opened her window, the Dark-type leapt into her room immediately, circling the Vaporeon, giving her body a once-over.

"Cleo! Are you alright? No one answered the door when I rang the doorbell so I tried to enter through your window but I found you sprawled on the ground. I thought something had happened to you and your window was locked and-"

Zenith's words were cut off as Cleo threw her paws around him in a giant hug, the water-type patting his back to calm him down, smoothing down ruffled fur as she gently stroked his back. Cleo continued until Zenith's frantic, rapid breaths slowed down into a more composed, relaxed rhythm. She then pulled away from their hug to stare into Zenith's crimson pupils.

"Feeling better?"

"Much better. Thanks, Cleo. Sorry you had to see me like that." Zenith ducked his head, embarrassed at the huge contrast to his usual calm and levelheadedness that he had exhibited earlier.

"It's fine, Zenith. Actually, it's cute to see you all worked up over me." Cleo responded in a coy voice, causing Zenith to blush even harder under his dark fur. "And it's always nice to call out the Zenith comfort train," Cleo added.

_Uh... Dialga? A little help over here?_

**I guess that you could change the subject, but-**

_Great thanks!_

**I wasn't finished...**

"So... why were you on the floor like that? You almost scared me to half to death when I saw you."

"I was... sleeping. I think I fell on the floor, but didn't wake up. You know how deep of a sleeper I am."

"Thank Arceus. I thought something bad had happened to you."

_But you're a light sleeper... that was why I had to leave through the window in the first place..._

**Don't bring that up.**

"Really? Like what?"

"Like..." Zenith seemed to ponder that question, but then shook his head vigorously, as if trying to clear his head of bad thoughts. "Never mind that. You're safe, and that's all that matters to me."

"Aww..."

"So... half the day's gone. I have a plan for the rest of the day... but I kinda need your permission for it."

Cleo' curiosity was piqued once again. "What did you mean by 'needing my permission'?' Her tone was wary, and caused Zenith to shuffle his paws on the ground nervously, now doubting the faith he had in his 'plan'.

"You know how your cell structure is similar to water, right?"

"Yeah..."

"And you can control water with your mind?"

"Still can, but I don't see where this is going..."

"Well..." Zenith took a deep breath, before blurting out the words on his mind.

"Since you can control water and you're kinda like water... I wanted to see if could change the forms, shapes or sizes of your body through your control of water." As the words left Zenith's mouth, he realised that the words he said sounded dumb. Changing a living thing's own definite size and shape? That would almost be impossible! And judging from Cleo's incredulous expression, Zenith thought that Cleo felt the same way. Stammering, he felt the need to backtrack, to take back the plan that he now regretted coming up with.

"I-I mean, let's just forget everything I just said. That was a dumb plan anyway. Why don't we just-"

"Zenith."

"Y-yes?"

"I think that it's a great plan."

Zenith blinked twice at Cleo, the water-type's words slowly sinking in.

"Are you sure? It might be dangerous, and since no one's ever done this before I have no idea what might happen to you..."

Cleo stared at Zenith intently as he continued to ramble on. He was staring at her through the same worried eyes, and his paws were shifting nervously on the bedroom floor, as if unsure of his actions. He was so different from the Zenith that she knew, the Dark-type that laughed in the face of danger and kept a level head in all sorts of situations. What could've caused him to act the way he was now?

"Zenith, you're acting weirder than usual. What's wrong? It's only a few tests, and they sound fun. I've never seen you this worried."

"It's you! How can you still be so calm about this! It's your life on the line here! I-I-I'm going to ask you to do things that may make you collapse internally, and you say it's a great plan? It's a horrible plan, and I'm a horrible Pokemon for asking you to do this, and y- "

Zenith halted as she saw the shocked look on Cleo's face, the Vaporeon startled by the unexpected outburst.

"I-i didn't mean it that way. It's just…" A small pause as a hesitant Zenith tried to clarify. "I'm fine when it's just me who's in danger, or when we're both in dangerous situations together since we can watch each other's backs. But you, facing uncertain situations we know so little about? I just don't want to hurt you… or worse… especially by you blindly accepting whatever I say."

Zenith slumped to sit on the floor, lowering his head to hide his expression of guilty shame, and Cleo felt her heart ache at the sight, throbbing with a similar feeling.

She had to agree that Zenith was right. She shouldn't have just agreed to what he suggested just because he was… Zenith. There would be certain risks she probably might have to face if she gave her permission. But then again…

The Vaporeon sat, leaning her head on Zenith's shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I have to admit that I wasn't thinking much, or at all when I approved your 'plan'. But I want to ask you something: did you do any calculations, or research on this before asking me?"

"Of course. Theoretical calculations, and they show that the experiments would hypothetically work." The Umbreon pulled out some folded-up notes from a pocket of his utility belt and looked through them, examining them closely for errors.

"There. I trust you with the experiments and procedures. Now all I ask is for you to trust me that I can take care of myself during these experiments. Just like when you battle solo in all those fights, I trusted you to make it out safely, and you did. You just have to do the same for me. Don't worry, I won't force myself to make the tests 'work' when I'm clearly feeling otherwise."

_But I know my skills when it comes to battling. For untested science experiments that might most likely be unethical… argh. I could really use some divine advice here._

**Just let her do the tests.**

_Wait, you ARE the God of Time, right? So you can see into the future?_

**Yeah, and I can tell you that Cleo will be alright. Just trust her.**

"Okay then. A bit of trust in venturing into the unknown. Promise you'll tell me whenever you feel uncomfortable, pain, nausea or anything bad?"

"I promise."

Getting up from the floor, Zenith extended a paw towards Cleo, who accepted it with delight. She could still feel the aura of worry surrounding Zenith, but it seemed to have reduced slightly, replaced with a little confidence.

"Thanks for the pep talk, Cleo. Is it okay if you meet me on the front lawn in a few minutes? I need some time to prepare… and ensure my calculations are 100% accurate."


	29. Chapter 29

**NSO Chapter 29**

_(Day 3, Part 2)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Cleo sat on the front lawn, feeling the blades of grass brush against her skin. It was now noon, and the sun was hanging at its highest point in the sky, sending scorching rays beating down on the earth. Since Cleo was a Water-type, the heat didn't affect her that much, but most of the neighbourhood wasn't as lucky as the Vaporeon. The streets and sidewalks were completely deserted, most Pokemon staying inside to beat the heat, save for the occasional Fire-type, which made it less desirable for Pokemon to venture outside.

Cleo shifted from side to side as she looked at her surroundings again. For some reason, how the grass felt on her skin was far from its usual pleasantness. The leaves poked into every inch of her, making the Vaporeon feel antsy all over. She squirmed, feeling uncomfortable no matter how much she adjusted her position. Giving up, Cleo stood and started to pace in circles on the lawn, shaking her body once or twice to try and rid herself of any clinging grass blades. Was she always this restless? Maybe it was just the worry kicking in late after hearing Zenith's ominous words. There shouldn't be anything to worry about with him around, should there? Cleo gave herself a final shake to remove any lingering anxieties. Of course there weren't. She trusted the Umbreon and whatever he came up with.

Cleo noticed her tub of water float out of her open window, enveloped in a light blue glow. Zenith stood in the tub, using Psychic to lower it down onto the front lawn. Cleo ran over to meet him as he stepped out of the large tub of water. He didn't even need to dry himself off, the small droplets of water still clinging to his fur evaporating quickly in the heat. Now closer, Cleo could see the Umbreon fidgeting like she was before, probably sharing the same worries as she had.

"Ready for the tests, Cleo?"

"Yeah. Do we really need my tub though? I thought it was just about trying to reshape my body."

"I thought I'd change it into something safer. Now I'm trying to test how… compatible water with your body."

Seeing Cleo's confused expression, Zenith decided to elaborate a bit further.

"Seeing that your body's molecular structure is nearly identical to regular water molecules, I want to find out if you can 'add' water to yourself to change your shape and size instead of trying to change your body directly."

"So... you want to see if water can become like a part of my body, and if I can control that instead, since my water control powers might not work on my own molecules?"

"Putting it simply, yes. Let's start with something simple first... how about adding a layer of water onto your body?"

"How thick?"

"A few centimetres should be good for now. Remember, any pain or discomfort and-"

"-And I'll stop everything immediately. Got it."

"Okay. Ready?"

"Yup." Closing her eyes, Cleo stood next to the tub, mind willing for the water to envelop her entire body. And as Zenith watched, a ball of water rose from the tub, to splash onto Cleo's back, the water covering her fully. The Vaporeon faded out of sight while this was happening, turning invisible in water to leave behind a featureless blob of water in the shape of her. Nothing happened for a minute, in which Zenith waited with bated breath, before a pair of eyes opened themselves once more, and Cleo's features reappeared in a slightly larger body.

Zenith circled Cleo, examining the Vaporeon as she stretched out her limbs as if using them for the first time.

"How does it feel, Cleo?"

"Hm..." The Vaporeon pondered the question as she trotted around the front lawn, doing jumps and leaps to test out how her new 'body' felt.

"It's more of a suit than it is a skin." Cleo stared at her paw, clenching ad unclenching it while the water that covered it moved along as well. She was going to get the water back off her body, when an idea popped into her mind, accompanied with a smile on her face.

Zenith was busy scribbling down notes as he heard Cleo call out his name. Looking up, he almost jumped in surprise as the eyes he stared into weren't of the Vaporeon he knew, but of another Umbreon-his. However, surprise was overridden by excitement and curiosity at Cleo's newfound skill.

"Cleo! That's you... right?"

"Yup!" It unsettled Zenith deeply to hear himself speak in such an upbeat, feminine tone, although he didn't let it show.

"This... is... amazing! It looks exactly like me! Shame about the colour though." Completing his thorough inspection of Cleo's new 'body', he had to admire her handiwork. As creeped out as he was, he was really impressed. Every detail on 'him' was spot on, and even the fur looked realistic. The only thing that separated the disguise from Zenith was the bright blue sheen of the water.

"Yeah, but I can't do anything about the colour. I CAN do this, though." Cleo closed his eyes, concentrating, before morphing her Umbreon disguise into a variety of different Pokemon. Zenith managed to catch glimpses of the Cleo's family members, his mom, school teachers and students, all of which looked perfectly like their real-life counterparts, before resuming her original form.

"Wow. I'll work on something for the colour. Also, what happens when you morph into something... bigger than you?" Zenith noticed that all of Cleo's recent shape-shifts were all around her size, and quadruped. "Like... Kurt...? Just be carefu- "

As some as the Nidoking's name left Zenith's mouth, Cleo concentrated once more, picturing the Poison/Ground-type in her mind. More water rose out from the tub as Cleo stood on her hind legs, the clear liquid surrounding the Vaporeon, wrapping around her body until she disappeared again, leaving behind a giant cocoon-shaped blob of water. Another moment of silence, and Zenith stepped backwards as tendrils of water extended from the water, thickening and twisting to form into the shape of the Nidoking. Like all of her previous forms, Cleo was spot on once again, causing Zenith to shudder involuntarily at the figure in front of him, before reminding himself who it actually was. Curiousity drove him forward again to poke 'Kurt' in the stomach.

"Um...I'm in an upright position. I guess I can still move this thing..." The Nidoking took a wobbly step forward, and then another. "It's like piloting a mech from that giant robot movie."

"The one where they fought kaiju?"

"Yeah. That one. And as for that poking- no, I can't really feel it. It's more of a tingle than a tap."

"It's like being in a partially pain-proof suit, then. Do you mind if I... attack you?"

The Nidoking shrugged, spreading out 'his' arms. "Try it anyway. I need to know too."

Charging up the smallest Dark Pulse he had, Zenith sent it straight at the feet of the 'Nidoking'. The detonation didn't seem to have any effect on the 'NIdoking', which surprised Zenith. Even his smallest attacks were still powerful. The surface of the water rippled as it took the move, cushioning the blow for Cleo. However, the Vaporeon's huge form was still knocked backwards from the shockwave that emanated from the orb. Landing on the ground, Cleo was unable to get back on her feet, still unaccustomed with her new form, so she shrank back into her original self, the excess water puddling back on the floor. She gratefully accepted the paw from Zenith, who pulled the Vaporeon back up onto her paws, checking her anxiously for any sorts of injuries.

"You okay? That was quite a fall."

"I'm fine. Didn't feel much of that Dark Pulse, but it looks like I still obey the laws of physics. Unfortunately. Do you have anything else you want me to do?"

"Yeah. One last question." Zenith finished writing on his scraps of paper and looked back up. "How big can you get?"

"Let's see!" Cleo eyes sparkled at the prospect of towering over houses and buildings. Concentrating even harder, all of the water on the ground swirled into the air, along with the remaining contents of the tub, encasing Cleo in a sphere of water, which was slowly growing to the size of the Torrent Residence. Zenith stared at the sphere in amazement as the sphere slowly moulded itself into the shape of a Vaporeon. Features added themselves shortly after, and Zenith found himself looking up at a two-storey tall Cleo. The humongous Water-type surveyed her surroundings, looking slightly disappointed at not being as tall as she expected. Looking down, she saw a minuscule Zenith shrugging at her, gesturing at an empty tub.

"How's it like up there?" Zenith's voice was barely audible from Cleo's perspective. She tried to respond, but as she did, she could feel the ground trembling under her feet, and so could Zenith as he tried to keep his balance on the lawn. Maybe shrinking down to converse with Zenith would be a better idea.

-Time Skip-

"So… you're saying you could have gotten bigger than… that?" Two Eeveelutions sat on the front lawn, enjoying the gentler sunbeams and the grass beneath them.

"Yeah. I just needed more water."

"Well, as long as you don't exert yourself. You sure you don't feel uncomfortable when doing this?" Zenith stared at the sky, which was starting to fade from a clear blue to the reddish glow of a sunset. As the sun slowly began to sink down the horizon, bringing its scorching heat along, the streets of the neighbourhood became more populated again, Pokemon enjoying the coolness of the evening.

"Looks like there's too many Pokemon around to continue. We don't want to attract any more attention." Leaping back into the tub of water, Zenith used Psychic to return it back into Cleo's room, with him along with it.

Cleo took the normal route back into her room, through the main door of her house. But as the Vaporeon pushed open her blue door, she immediately sensed that something was... off. Zenith was still sitting in the tub of the water. He was staring at his reflection, the expression on his face reminiscent of the one Cleo wore yesterday.

**_Looks like the Zenith comfort train has to make a few more stops._ **

The Vaporeon went over to Zenith, who scooted over to one side so that she could sit beside him in the tub.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

"Everything went out fine today. Perfect, even."

"I don't think I see the problem here. Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?"

"But that's the thing. Nothing bad happened, and in the end, we had less time to try out more of those experiments. I could tell that you really enjoyed them, but most of the day was spent on me worrying that you'd get hurt during these experiments. I should have just trusted you in the first place instead of fretting pointlessly about your well-being. If I'd done that, we would've had more time. If only I had put more faith in-"

The words that were tumbling out of Zenith's mouth were silenced as a wave of water crashed over his him, forcibly dunking his head to submerge it in the cold water. Fighting his way to the surface, he spluttered, trying to rid his mouth of the water that had sloshed its way inside. Bristling with indignation at the sudden act, Zenith turned to Cleo, wanting an explanation but faltered under a cold scare that could rival Zoey's.

"You done?"

Zenith opened his mouth to speak, but after some consideration, closed it again, nodding.

Cleo's gaze softened, and care could once again be heard in her voice. "I'm sorry for that, Zenith. I was calling out your name several times during your... ranting but you didn't seem to hear me. Look, all these things are in the past now. Your concerns were all valid, and you had all rights to be concerned about my safety. Let's just learn from them, and use them as stepping stones in the future. We all got something we wanted in the end, didn't we? I had fun, you got results, and we spent more time together! It's a win-win, with even more win! Who could ask for more, right?"

"...right."

"C'mon, Zenith." Cleo snuggled up to Zenith, burying her head in the Umbreon's chest fur, directly under his chin. "Stop thinking too much into this. Besides, I'd rather have you constantly worrying too much about me than have you not care about me at all."

"I guess you're right." Zenith scratched the back of his head in embarrassment at his previous actions. "You know, I guess the reason why I keep worrying about the past is probably because I-" The Umbreon was interrupted again by a splash, this time produced by Cleo falling into the water, before sitting back upright, rubbing her eyes.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Cleo's jaws stretched wide open in a huge yawn. "All that stuff today was mentally taxing. I think I.. need... to..." Cleo couldn't muster any more energy, falling asleep midsentence. Zenith caught Cleo before she could fall into the water again, pulling her close to his chest, smiling at her adorable snoring features. He then lifted Cleo out of the tub, carrying the Vaporeon with Psychic, bridal style, and laid her gently on the blue mattress. Grabbing the neatly folded blanket placed in a corner of the bed, he tucked Cleo in.

"Sweet dreams, Cleo. I'll tell your mom to wake you up for dinner." Giving the Vaporeon's forehead a quick peck, Zenith quickly exited Cleo's room.

As Cleo's final hold on consciousness slowly slipped away, her mind couldn't help but go back to the unanswered question it had asked before: _But on the other paw?_

_Well..._

_But on the other paw, maybe they didn't need romantic acts to make their relationship better. It was already great the way it was, and Cleo wouldn't give anything in the world to change it._


	30. Chapter 30

**NSO Chapter 30**

_(Day 4, Part 1)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

"What? Why do you have to go back to school? It's our break, for Arceus' sake!"

"I...left something in the secret room in school, so I need to go back and get it." Zenith slid open Cleo's window and perched on the windowsill, preparing to leap out. Looking back, he caught her eye, the Vaporeon still sitting on her bed, swaddled in blankets, an expression of disbelief on her face at the prospect of returning to school.

"You coming along? You can always stay here while I go by myself, and-"

Those words jogged Cleo's back into action. She wouldn't stay at home alone again if she could help it. It was just too boring for her without another Pokemon to keep her company. With a shout of "Meet you at the front lawn!", the Vaporeon leapt off her bed and rushed out, desperate to do anything rather than stay isolated in her room any longer. Seeing Cleo close her bedroom door behind her, Zenith turned his attention back to the open window in front of him. Normally he would just jump out and climb down the house wall, the soft grass of the backyard would easily cushion him if he fell. But during his previous trips out the window, Zenith had noticed a drain pipe that bordered the roof, within easy reach from the windowsill. Maybe today would be the perfect day to try another route.

Perching on the windowsill, Zenith leapt upwards, twisting his body in midair to grab hold of the drainpipe with his front paws. In one swift motion, he pulled himself onto the roof and started to run across it. His soft paws and light frame made no noise as he ran along the shingles of the roof, jumping off the edge to see the front lawn spread out in front of him. Cleo, who had been lying on the grass, gazing at the clouds, gasped as a black silhouette raced across her vision. Charging up a Dark Pulse between his jaws, Zenith let it loose beneath his foot just as he was going to hit the ground, allowing him to perform a 'double jump' and land perfectly on the front lawn, in front of a stunned Cleo.

"Did you just... jump off the roof? How did you do that?"

"I guess it just seems like today's my lucky day. C'mon, let's go!"

Cleo got up from the grass to help Zenith open the front gate. "Yeah, let's go. The sooner you get what you need and get out of school, the better!"

-Time Skip-

"Ugh," Cleo waved a paw in front of her face as Zenith pushed open the double doors of Kingdra High, letting loose a musty odour that hit the duo in pungent waves. "This stinks- literally. I think I'm going to the library while you search for the thing you need. You know where to find me, right?"

Zenith thought back to the school library's extensive romance section, one that completely overshadowed the small bookshelf that Cleo had in her room.

"Sure. I'll come fetch you when I'm done. It'll take me around ten minutes, tops."

That left the Umbreon to navigate through the school's labyrinth of hallways, making his way to the hidden room. The halls were deserted, free from its usual groups and cliques, most of the students gone enjoying the rest of their week-long break. This meant that, for once, Zenith did not have to worry about bullies or anything that he used to fear during normal school days. This allowed the Umbreon to traverse the hallways without worries, and think about his plans for the day.

_I can complete what I've been working on once I got what I need from the secret room, but I guess that can wait. To be honest, all I want to do is to pad out the rest of the day with Cleo, do what she wants for a change. That sound good, right Dialga?_

_Dialga?_

There was no response from the Temporal Pokemon.

_Well, I guess he can't spend ALL his time hooked up to my mind. At least these powers are here to stay. Oh well. Time to pick up the pace. Gotta get back to Cleo fast!_

The Umbreon rounded a corner and leapt back, hissing.

A pink, ribboned Pokemon stood before him, leaning against the wall, nonchalantly inspecting her nails. On Zenith's reaction, she dropped back down on all fours, smiling sweetly at the Umbreon.

"Why hello, Zenith. We seem to have run into each other." Her voice was silky-smooth, yet sickeningly sweet, like every word was made out of sugar.

The only response she got was a snarl and the charging up of a Dark Pulse. "Don't play dumb, Sylvie." Zenith spat the last word out with a growl. "Pokemon don't just 'run into' you."

"What do you want from me? Your five boyfriends not good enough for you?"

The smile on Sylvie's face seemed to grow even wider, if that was even possible.

"Oh, them? Let's just say that I... released them, if you catch my drift." There was nothing vague about that sentenceat all. And was that a wink she sent at him? Whatever. Zenith wasn't in the fazed in the slightest. If anything, that just made him way more suspicious of the Sylveon standing in front of him.

"So what do you want now? Get more Pokemon to fall in love with you?" The Dark Pulse in Zenith's mouth grew larger.

Sylvie gave a loud, tinkly laugh that made Zenith wince, shaking her head.

"You've got it all wrong, Zenith. You see, I'm coming clean. In fact, from now on, I'm remaining loyal to just one Pokemon."

"Yay. Great. You're turning over a new leaf. Good for you. So if you excuse me..." Zenith's expression was unchanging, an emotionless face that revealed no weakness to Sylvie as he tried once again to step past her, his irritation towards the Sylveon growing with each failed sidestep.

_I swear, she's going to break my ankles._

"So... what about your current reputation?" Sighing, Zenith felt like he had no other choice but to entertain Sylvie, his question a flat monotone.

"Oh, I don't care what others think of me. I can always turn them away, since they all pale in comparison to this one Pokemon that I realised will be perfect for me..." Throughout Sylvie's explanation, Zenith had given up on getting to the hidden room and was slowly backing away, ready to make a break for the library, back to Cleo. He had picked up what Sylvie wanted to do, and did not want to be anywhere near her when she pulled it off. The hungry look the Sylveon had in her eyes didn't give Zenith much comfort either, only confirming his suspicions. With lighting-fast speed, he launched the Dark Pulse at Sylvie, before turning tail to flee. As he ran down the corridor as fast as his four paws could take him, a muffled 'boom' could be heard, but the usual 'flump' of a body hitting the ground was absent, adding to the panic he was trying to subdue.

_I have to get to the library before Sylvie gets to me first. Cleo will know what to do. She'll understand if I explain it to her, but if Sylvie reaches me before I do... Time to go faster!_

Still sprinting, Zenith concentrated, calling upon the time powers that were bestowed upon him by Dialga, and smiled as he felt time around him slowing down to a crawl. Navigating his way through the halls, Zenith began to feel a sense of hope once more.

_Everything's going to be alright. I left Sylvie in the dust. I'm halfway there to the library. Nothing can go wroAH!_

Zenith felt his feet fly out from under him as the friction between the school tiles and his paw pads were suddenly nonexistent. In his rush, he had not noticed a strategically placed puddle of water in his way, the transparent liquid almost invisible to the Umbreon in the low school lighting. And since he was moving at top speed, the momentum carried him forward to slam face-first into the wall at the end of the hallway, leaving him dazed from the impact as well as a dent in the plaster.

Zenith was seeing Staryus and Starmies as his body peeled off the wall and hit the floor. The world was spinning, and he barely had time to react as a pink and white blur entered his vision. Paws were planted on his chest to hold him down, and ribbonlike feelers were wrapped around his front and back limbs, holding them in a vice-like grip, never loosening no matter how hard Zenith struggled.

_Must.. keep her talking to come.. up with... plan..._

"Why me? You had a few years, and you never even came close to me." Zenith asked his captor through gritted teeth, fighting against a headache and his bonds but to no avail.

Still wearing that same sweet smile, Sylvie raised Zenith into the air with her tendrils, slamming him back into the dent in the wall that he had created before, knocking the air straight out of his lungs. The tendrils still held fast, rendering any escape attempts futile. A paw under his chin tilted his head upwards and forced Zenith to look down into the blue-white eyes of Sylvie.

"Come on, Zenith... you know why?" The Sylveon purred. "Before, when you disguised yourself as a normal Umbreon, you were so... ordinary. But now, even since you've shown your... true colours..." Zenith shuddered as he felt a paw trace the outline of the bright blue ring on his thigh.

"...you've shown a whole new side of yourself. You have brain, brawn, beauty... you're the epitome of Eeveelutions! Besides me, of course." In a last-ditch effort, Zenith charged up a Dark Pulse and released it point-blank into Sylvie's face. There was an explosion, but when the smoke cleared, Sylvie was still standing, a coy smile on her undamaged features. Zenith bit back a cry of pain as the tendrils tightened their constricting grip on his limbs. "Zenith, you sly dog, you had me monologuing! Don't you know I'm resistant to Dark types? An A for effort, but no matter. You can't escape, and it should be working now."

"What's... working..." Zenith was confused, but then the answer became clear to him.

Literally.


	31. Chapter 31

**NSO Chapter 31**

_(Day 4, Part 2)_

I don’t own Pokemon. 

* * *

In the library, Cleo set down the book in her paws and glanced at the giant clock hanging on the wall. It had been almost an hour since Zenith had left to grab the thing he needed, and he had promised to be back in at most ten minutes. 

Something was definitely wrong. 

Placing her book back in its original spot on the bookshelf, Cleo hurried out of the library to find her boyfriend. 

“What’s… working…” Zenith groaned as his head began to swim, his vision turning an unnaturally bright shade of pink. Meanwhile, an intoxicating smell started to permeate his senses. 

“W-what is that?” Zenith tried to break free of his bonds, but his body felt slow and sluggish, and moving each limb felt like it required too much energy that he didn’t seem to have. Seeing the Umbreon struggling weakly in her grasp, Sylvie let out another enchanting laugh, bringing herself closer to Zenith until their noses were almost touching. The scent seemed to grow stronger, and Zenith’s nose just seemed to drink it up. 

"Eau de Salazzle. I thought I’d try it today. It's nice, isn't it? I know you think so." Sylvie smiled as she watched the Umbreon's rapidly twitching nose.

Zenith was about to respond, witty comment at the ready, but said thought was pushed out of his mind by the more intricate details that his eyes had picked up in the last few seconds, like how Sylvie's body shape looked a lot more...appealing than Cleo's and how beautiful the Sylveon's light-blue eyes actually were... Lewd thoughts and scenarios started to cram themselves into his mind, things that would normally never exist, much less appear in the Umbreon's brain. All while a smell similar to roses comforted Zenith, making him feel comfortable with the Pokemon he was with. The smile on Sylvie's face grew as Zenith's body went limp in her feelers, no longer resisting.

However, even with all the crude thoughts crowding around in Zenith's mind, there was still a small part of his consciousness that remained intact, crying out.

_Shout! Bite her feelers! Get help! Do anything besides this!_

"Zenith!" Both Eeveelutions turned their heads towards the sound of approaching footsteps, the electric lights of the hallway casting the growing shadow of a frilled quadruped against the wall.

"Zenith! Where are you?"

Annoyance rose up to Sylvie's throat as she felt Zenith's once slack body try to struggle against her feelers at Cleo's arrival. After all that she had done, and he was still resisting? She was almost impressed. Ordinary Pokemon would have seen the truth by now. Looking back at the Umbreon, she saw his mouth opened wide, most likely to call out the Vaporeon's name in a desperate cry for help. That just wouldn't do. Time to seal the deal.

Cleo could hear some noise further down the hallway. Zenith must be close by. Rounding the corner, the Vaporeon's wild imagination conjured up the many scenarios Zenith could be in right now, each more terrifying and unbelievable than the last.

But none like this.

Zenith had his back to the wall, lips locked with a Sylveon that Cleo did not recognise. Their kissing slowly grew into a full-blown make-out session, the Dark and Fairy-type Pokemon feeling each other up as they did so, with the Vaporeon staring on in consternation. A voice in Cleo's head screamed at her to do something, but she was too stunned to react, her brain still trying to process the scene before her.

-Less than a minute earlier-

Noticing Cleo round the corner, Zenith's hope lifted once more. There was still a shot at this! He was beginning to succumb to the infatuation and could feel logical thinking slowly slipping away from him. He had to act now, and fast. Opening his mouth, he raised his head to the ceiling, gathering up whatever remaining sense he had left to shout out Cleo's name. But instead of words leaving his mouth, Zenith was taken by surprise as a pink paw forced his head down, Sylvie's lips latching onto his own, her tongue forcibly snaking its way into his maw. Her tendrils glowed faintly, emitting a soothing aura to suppress Zenith's enraged and indignant emotions. Zenith's eyes widened in surprise, accompanied by a sharp intake of pheromone-filled air. His eyelids closed as he started to enjoy the feeling, the last of his rational thought washed away in a sea of pheromones to be replaced with an overwhelming sense of primal desire and passion. There was only one Pokemon in the world that he wanted right now, and that was the one right in front of him.

He couldn't care less about anyone else.

-Present time-

Sylvie's lips finally parted from Zenith's, the two Pokemon gasping heavily for breath. Sylvie's feelers relinquished their grip on Zenith, the Umbreon sliding back down the wall to sit on the floor, a dazed smile on his face, paws reaching out weakly towards the Sylveon, wanting more of what she could offer. Sylvie, knowing that she had succeeded, gave him a wink, before turning to face a fuming Vaporeon.

"Okay, I don't know who you are, or what you want, but why did you just kiss Zenith?"

You don't know who I am? This is going to be easier than I thought.

"Oh, I didn't kiss Zenith. I was walking down the halls, minding my own business when Zenith here suddenly pulled me into an enjoyable kissing session against the wall. Isn't that right, Zenith?" Sylvie gestured towards the Umbreon, who responded with a nod, still staring at the Sylveon's supple figure.

Cleo narrowed her eyes at Zenith's weak response, and even more so at the Umbreon himself. In all the time she had spent with him, she knew that he was always one to properly explain himself, to tell the story from his point of view, no matter the circumstances. Failing to do that, and simply agreeing about basically cheating on her? Something was definitely up.

"So who are you anyway? Zenith's sister?" Sylvie started to circle Cleo, examining her from head to toe. She's got a slightly larger ass than usual, but that's all she's got going for her. No looks, not much of a figure, nothing I can't beat.

Cleo eyed Sylvie suspiciously, keeping the Fairy-type in her field of vision. "His girlfriend," she growled through gritted teeth. "and cut the crap." Seizing her chance, the Vaporeon grabbed Sylvie by the bow on her neck, pushing her against a nearby locker. The Sylveon tried to get up, but a blue paw forced her back onto the cold hard metal.

"He kissed you? Yeah, right. Now give me an explanation and free Zenith from whatever spell you put him under!"

Zenith's ears perked up at the sound of a crash and shouting. Looking over, his pink pupils widened, and he got back onto his feet, knowing what he had to do.

Cleo's snarling face was met with a calm expression from Sylvie, which infuriated Cleo even more.

"I'll give you three more seconds. If you don't want to talk, I'll make sure you certainly won't be able to."

"My, my. Such bold threats, coming from someone who can't keep them."

Cleo started to speak, but didn't get a chance to as feelers wrapped around her front and back limbs, tightening their grip, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from Cleo. They jerked forward, sending her crashing face-first onto the floor. As the Vaporeon was writhing in pain, struggling to get out of the bonds which held her in place, a football-sized Shadow Ball slammed into her flank. Sylvie's eyes sparkled with cold mirth as she let go, an equally cold smile on her face as she watched Cleo fly halfway across the hallway, almost touching the ceiling lights before hitting the ground with a thump. A large bluish-black bruise was starting to form on her side, and red markings could be seen around the Vaporeon's paws, standing out against light blue skin, highlighted by the noticeable swelling.

"Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but you should've known better if you thought I was just going to let you speak to Sylvie like that, much less harm her!" Zenith looked down at Cleo, hostility evident in every word he spat out in the Vaporeon's face.

Sylvie's smile widened as she watched the last remains of hope in Cleo's eyes disappear like a guttering wick exposed to an icy blast of wind. The Vaporeon staggered to her feet, braving the pain that came with every step. She stumbled towards Zenith, trying to place her paws on his shoulders, but failed to do so as he instinctively took a step backwards, causing Cleo to fall to the floor again.

"Come on, Zenith! It's me, Cleo! Snap out of it!" A plea could be heard in the Vaporeon's voice as she looked up at Zenith in desperation, trying to talk some sense into the Umbreon.

"I know it's you, Cleo. And I'm not under a spell."

"W-what?" Cleo was blinking rapidly, trying her hardest to hold back the tears that were welling within her.

"I said, my mind's not under anyone's control. As a matter of fact, it's clearer than ever! I feel so foolish for not making the correct decision sooner, but I know now." Zenith ran over to Sylvie, nuzzling his face into her fur.

"The only girlfriend in the world for me is Sylvie!"

That was the straw that broke the Numel's back. Cleo broke down sobbing, her tears running in rivulets down her face. As her body shook like a leaf, wracked with an onslaught of tears, the Vaporeon grasped at straws, frantically searching for a reason for him to stay by her side.

"Zenith! Y-y-you said that you'd never leave-"

"You?" Cleo covered her tail with her face to avoid meeting the cold, smug smile that Sylvie wore, shrinking back at Sylvie's condescending tone, pressing her sobbing body as close to the ground as possible.

Sylvie laughed, her mocking voice amplified by the empty hallway.

"Look at me, Cleo. Then look at yourself. There's HARDLY any competition."

The Sylveon then bent down to look at Cleo, who curled her body tighter into a small ball to avoid eye contact with the Fairy-type. "Look, sweetheart. I know he WAS your boyfriend, but sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to, and it's time to face facts. he belongs with me now, and honestly, we make a better couple than you two will ever be. So I would greatly appreciate it if you would kindly leave us alone from now on, and never bother us again." With each word, Cleo felt the colours of her world grow darker. Shutting her eyes tight did nothing to stop the flow of tears as she wished for all of this to be just another bad dream, wished for her to wake up in her bed, Zenith perched on her windowsill, greeting her good morning.

Sylvie watched the pool of tears Cleo was lying in and smiled. She dipped a feeler in the liquid and tasted it, relishing its salty-sweet aftertaste.

"Well, oopsie me. I seem to have struck a nerve." There was that falsely sweet voice again. "Come on, babe. Let's go." Sylvie turned to Zenith, and they walked down the hallway together, leaving the sobbing mass of a Vaporeon behind them.


	32. Chapter 32

**NSO Chapter 32**

_(Day 4, Part 3)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Zoey paced in circles nervously in front of the light blue bedroom door, where muffled sobs could be heard emanating from behind the thick piece of wood. Janice had sent her to talk to her sister after Cleo had come home a crying mess, going straight to her room and refusing to come out. When she did exit her room for things like dinner, the time spent outside was minimal, and interactions were almost nonexistent. Zoey was going to knock but hesitated, her paw mere inches away from hitting the door. She looked behind her and received an encouraging smile and thumbs up from Julley. Taking a deep breath to pluck up her courage, Zoey gave two sharp raps on the door. There was a moment of silence as the sobbing stopped abruptly before there was the sound of a lock clicking open.

Pushing open the door, Zoey noticed a tendril of water slithering back into the tub in the room and a sniffling pile of blankets on the bed. Sighing, she climbed onto the bed to sit beside the soaking heap of blankets, and her sister that lay beneath them. As she sat there, her mind struggled with what to say to Cleo.

_Cleo, mom wants to talk to you? Nah. If I'm going to make up excuses to leave, why did I even come in here?_

_Cleo, you have to woman up and stop crying! He was barely worth i-no. That's not right either._

_Hey, Cleo. I...uh... brought you dry blankets_?

Zoey stared down at the sky-blue blankets and sheets she had brought into the room with her and frowned to herself. None of these responses seemed to be the right thing to say. Then again, she was an Ice-type. They weren't exactly known for being the most compassionate Pokemon in the world, quite the opposite. But this WAS her sister, the Vaporeon that she had known for sixteen years. With all that she had put her through with those silly contests, she had to make it up to her. She at least had to try to comfort her.

"Cleo...did something happen between you and Zenith? I-I know I'm no expert in relationships, but maybe I can help you two figure things out." The Glaceon cringed at her cold straightforwardness. She didn't expect a reply, so the Glaceon was surprised when Cleo's head popped out of all the blankets she had swaddled herself in, teary and puff-eyed, wiping away stray tears.

"Y-y-you think so?" Cleo stuttered as she tried to speak with the lump in her throat, voice hoarse with her throat raw from crying.

_I don't know, I didn't think I'd get this far-NO! Bad Zoey. Say something encouraging. Something comforting._

"Uh... yeah. But let's dry yourself, and change your sheets first. You're going to catch a cold if you sleep with these, and I don't think that these blankets can soak up any more of your tears."

Five minutes later, Zoey and Cleo sat on the bedroom floor, the wet blankets and bedsheets drying out by the windowsill. Cleo wrapped herself in the new blankets Zoey had brought, and had a box of tissues by her side, which was rapidly being depleted, even though the Vaporeon's crying had now been reduced to occasional sniffles.

Seeing that Cleo had calmed down significantly, Zoey decided to press the issue again.

"So... what happened? You came home crying, without Zenith, and locked yourself in your room for a few hours before dinner. Did you two fight?"

"No..." As tears started to well up in Cleo's eyes again, Zoey started to notice where all the nearest tissue boxes were located. "He..." More tears as the Vaporeon recovered the memory. "He... he left me for someone else." Cleo buried her face in the blankets, the sheets growing damper with each passing second. Leaning over, Zoey spread her paws wide open in a hug that her sister immediately accepted, the Vaporeon pressing her face against the Ice-type's chest fur, squeezing the Glaceon as tight as her arms would allow for. Enjoying the embrace, Cleo's walls came down, and she slowly recounted the situation to her big sister. Listening to Cleo's story, Zoey felt sorry for she had to go through, and as she gave her sister reassuring pats on her back, her mind, trained by her time in college studying for her Police Science and Criminal Justice degree whirled into action.

The entire situation confused Zoey. Zenith didn't seem like the kind of Pokemon who would just leave someone that he had spent months with. And it wasn't like Cleo and Zenith's had a rocky relationship. The bond between the two Pokemon was unbelievably strong. So why would Zenith just break her sister's heart like that? It was a move that so one would have seen coming. Narrowing it down, there were three reasons that could have led to this.

Number one: Zenith had a change of heart. That was unlikely, since Zenith was one of the most loyal Pokemon Zoey had ever met, and with her time spent in college, she had met a lot of Pokemon. Coupled with what Cleo had shared with her, the Umbreon had the Vaporeon put on a pedestal. His world revolved around her, caring for her greatly, and the Glaceon knew that her sister felt the same way about him. It would take a lot of drive from someone else for Zenith to willingly fall for another.

Number two: Zenith was actually a sadistic psychopath, and was setting the entire thing up intentionally, building his relationship with Cleo for several months to ensure that the Vaporeon would fall in love with him, before breaking her heart as hard as he could and relishing in the enjoyment of seeing Cleo in such a broken state. This theory could be debunked by the fact that Zenith never had a girlfriend until he met Cleo, as far as the Vaporeon knew. However, the theory could only be wrong if Cleo' information was a hundred per cent correct. Zenith had attended Kingdra High for many years, while Cleo had just joined last year. There was ample time for Zenith to do the same to other girls before selecting Cleo as a target, and his antics wouldn't be well known around the school since his plans were long term. But if that theory did end up being true, Zoey hoped that Zenith loved broken limbs as much as he loved breaking hearts.

That left number three: Zenith was under the influence of someone else who forced him to leave Cleo. This theory could only be viable depending on the kind of Pokemon in Kingdra High. Zenith could take care of himself, so the only kinds of Pokemon in the school that would be able to overpower or persuade him successfully would be... wait a minute.

"Cleo."

"Yeah?" The Vaporeon wiped her tears on the blanket, looking up at her sister's voice.

"Who was the Pokemon that Zenith left you for?"

"Uh... a Sylveon, I think Zenith called her Sylv-"

"SYLVIE!" Cleo jumped as Zoey's shout caught her by surprise. Looking at her sister, Cleo was astonished to see the Glaceon on her feet, now pacing furiously around the room of a confused Vaporeon.

"That fucking slut! You'll pay for this!" In Zoey's rage, an Ice Beam was aimed at Cleo's still damp sheets, freezing the water molecules trapped inside into little ice spikes, which then shattered, effectively freeze-drying the blankets.

As Zoey kept muttering obscenities under her breath, Cleo watched her sister's hushed tirade with astounded curiosity. Where was all this heat* coming from?

"Zoey?"

"When I get my paws on that whore- yes, Cleo?"

"You know... Sylvie?"

The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to drop a few degrees as Zoey's fur started to bristle, her expression of cold fury growing even frostier. "Oh, I do know her. And more importantly for you, I know why Zenith left you for her."

"She had Zenith under some sort of spell, didn't she?"

"In a way, she did, She's a Sylveon, Cleo. She probably used Attract, procced Cute Charm, combined with that stupid Salazzle perfume... I'd put nothing past that hoe." Cleo winced at her sister's crude words, but at the same time, her hope, which had been trodden into the dirt, started to rise once again.

"So... how do you know so much about Sylvie?"

"We have history. I always saw that as a bad thing, but now it seems to be coming in handy. Although I have no idea what she's doing in your school."

"So if you ARE right about Sylvie, and she DOES have Zenith under her control, does that mean..."

Looking at her sister's hopeful expression, an uncommon warm feeling stirred within the Glaceon.

"Yes, Cleo. Zenith still loves you, deep down." Was that a small smile Cleo saw flicker across Zoey's usually cold, emotionless face? But that smile quickly vanished, before being replaced by a worried frown as Zoey considered the situation.

"Of course, above that "deep down" is a whole lot of pheromones and infatuation. We have got to get Zenith as far away from Sylvie as we can, as fast as we can. If not, the pheromones will stay in his system forever..."

"... And Zenith will love Sylvie for the rest of his life." Cleo finished Zoey's sentence, shivers running down her spine as she imagined the scene, dread setting deeper into her stomach. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, now you have to apologise to Mom for ignoring her before she leaves for her business trip tomorrow. And besides, there's nothing we can do at this hour. We have no idea where Zenith is, and I do not know where Sylvie lives. The best thing we can do is to wait until tomorrow to come up with an actual plan."

"That sounds fair. And Gayle's coming back from Battle Camp tomorrow. She'd want to save her brother too."

"So it's settled then. Now go talk to Mom." As Cleo stood up, Zoey gave the Vaporeon a little push, directing her out of the room. But at the doorway, Cleo stopped, turning to look back at her sister.

"Zoey?"

"Yeah?"

"When you said that you'd make Sylvie pay, what was she gonna pay for?"

"For breaking my little sister's heart. Why?"

"I just wanted to say... thanks. For everything." The light blue door swung shut with a click as Cleo left the room.

Julley came in shortly after, wiping the sweat off his brow. Panting heavily, he plopped himself next to Zoey, leaning on his girlfriend to soak up the refreshing, frosty air.

"Hey Julley. I trust you heard everything?"

"Yeah. Let's just hope that this time, it won't be as bad as before."

.

.

.

"Ugh..."

A painful throb in the head woke Zenith from his groggy slumber. Rubbing his noggin to try and relieve the pain, the Umbreon glanced around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His biological clock told him that it was late at night, so he tried to see the moon, hoping a Moonlight would be able to help heal his head.

But there was no window in the room.

As realisation set in, Zenith looked around frantically, now noticing things and objects in the dark room that he had never seen before. It was either Cleo had changed out everything in her room for some reason, or...

_This isn't Cleo's room._

_Okay, so if this isn't Cleo's room, where am I?_

Looking around his foreign surroundings, Zenith noticed many details that caught his eye. Hot, pink walls. Frills everywhere. A closet in a corner with a 'special vase' sign on it. And as memories started to seep back into his aching head, Zenith finally connected the dots.

_I'm in Sylvie's house._

_I gotta get out of here._

There was no window for an easy escape, so Zenith rushed towards the bedroom door. In his haste, he did not notice that the pink bed beside him was empty. The Umbreon also felt more sluggish than usual, as if his mind couldn't process information as fast as it used to.

Which explained why Zenith was caught off guard so easily.

He had barely exited the bedroom when ribbonlike tendrils shot out from behind the doorway, wrapping themselves around his legs and wrists, tripping the Umbreon up, down a flight of stairs directly in front of the bedroom.

With every step she took descending the stairs, Zenith tried to move, but fear held him in a vice-like grip, his mind still incapacitated by the nightmare that was unfolding before his eyes.

"Hey, Zenith. Miss me?" The Sylveon cooed, strutting towards the gaping Umbreon that lay helplessly on the floor. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, her tendrils extended out, curling around Zenith's limbs once more and lifting the Umbreon into the air.

"I know what you did, and it makes me sick knowing you manipulated me into leaving Cleo. Now let me go! I have a life to lead!"

"Tsk, tsk. And here I thought we had something special. But no matter. You may not like me now, but this will certainly change your mind." Still holding Zenith in her grasp, Sylvie walked back into her room, to that cupboard Zenith had noticed earlier. She rummaged through its contents for a while, before producing a contraption. It looked like a muzzle combined with an altered half-faced gas mask which had two vials of bright pink gas strapped to its sides.

"What's that?" Zenith began to struggle more frequently as Sylvie brought him closer with the contraption in paw, but the ribbons held him tightly in their grasp.

"Oh, it's just a loving gift from me to you. And speaking of loving..." Sylvie strengthened her aura, weakening Zenith's feelings of hostility long enough to strap the contraption around Zenith's snout. As she clipped the two rods of the muzzle around Zenith's struggling head, a computerized voice announced, "Love Muzzle successfully attached and locked. Voice command integrated."

it didn't take long for the 'Love Muzzle' to work its magic. The gas vials depressurised, releasing its contents into the mask. With no other option, Zenith was forced to breathe the gas in. The Umbreon's paw, once resisting against the tendrils gave in as the pheromones entered his system once again, sending Zenith's infatuation for Sylvie skyrocketing. His eyelids drooped shut, and when they reopened, they were no longer crimson red, but an unnaturally pinkish colour.

Sylvie smiled to herself, letting Zenith go as he gazed at her through love-struck eyes.

"Nice outfit there, Sylvie. it really accentuates your... everything."

"I'm so happy that you noticed, Zenith. And as a reward, you've earned a free check-up. C'mon, handsome. let's get you to bed."

"But I'm not tired, my love. In fact, I'm most energetic at night."

"I never said that we would be sleeping... and this is going to be so much fun."


	33. Chapter 33

**NSO Chapter 33**

_(Day 5)_

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

A bus pulled up in front of the Schroff residence, tyres squealing against the tarmac as the vehicle slowed to a stop. The doors hissed as they slid open, and a Vibrava stepped down the small flight of stairs. She looked around the front lawn of her house, the hopeful expression on her face slowly turning into one of disappointment and confusion.

"What's wrong, Gayle? You looked pretty bummed out." A Charmeleon got down the bus to stand beside Gayle.

"I don't know, Apollo. For some reason, I expected a more welcoming reception."

"So... what were you expecting?" Apollo looked around the neat, grassy lawn.

"I was expecting Zenith to hold some sort of 'Welcome Back' party. It just felt like the kind of thing he would do. But I guess I was wrong..."

"Wait, Zenith? The Umbreon?" Gayle didn't notice it, but the flame at the end of Apollo's tail started to burn a little more intensely.

"Yeah, he's... not my brother-yet. I guess you could call him a close friend. My dad and I live with him and his mom. And before you ask, yes. He has a girlfriend, a Vaporeon named Cleo-OH!" A blue blur tackled Gayle from behind, sending the both of them tumbling head-over-heels as they rolled across the lawn before sprawling to a stop. Cleo picked herself up immediately, running circles around the dazed Vibrava, talking rapidly as Apollo stared on in shock and surprise.

"Gayle!You'reback!Who'stheCharmeleon?Wehaveaproblem."

"What? Cleo, let's back it up a bit. You're making no sense." Gayle's head was still spinning from the tackle, and the constant stream of words leaving Cleo's mouth did not help to make things any better.

"Okay then. Slow down. Hey, need a hand up?" Without warning, Gayle was pulled to her feet by an unexpectedly strong Cleo, who then wrapped her in an overwhelming bear hug. "I'm sorry. It's just that you've been gone for so long. Questions, right? Right. Fire away."

"Firstly, where's Zenith?"

"That's the problem I was telling you about. Meet me in my room in 10 minutes?"

"Only Zenith knows where your room is."

"I'll wait."

"Fine. Give me five minutes." Gayle wiggled out of Cleo's grasp. "Can Apollo come along?"

"The Charmeleon? I suppose so. The more help we have, the better."

Five minutes later, five Pokemon were sitting in a circle, on a blue wooden floor: Cleo, Zoey, Julley, Gayle and Apollo. Zoey and Julley were discussing with each other in low tones, while Cleo pointed out the various details of her room to her two new guests. Gayle's eyes were darting around, observing every nook and cranny of the room, while Apollo just hugged his flaming tail close to his body, staring warily at the tub of water in the corner of the room. There was a moment of silence as Zoey and Julley's whispers ceased, and Cleo had finished talking Gayle through the layout of her room in excruciating detail. The atmosphere turned awkward as each Pokemon had something to say, but were uncertain to who wanted to speak first.

Gayle, determined to find out what had happened in the days she had spent in Battle Camp, decided to talk first.

"So... is anyone going to tell me what happened? Where's Zenith? And why is he a 'problem?'"

At the sound of the Umbreon's name, Gayle's super observant eyes caught a small tear shed from Cleo's eyes, but it was quickly wiped away by the Vaporeon, her expression hardening until her face was an emotionless slate. Gayle also expected Cleo to reply to her question, but an answer came from Zoey instead.

"Zenith's been taken from Cleo's side against his own will using pheromones and Attracts and is being forced to love another Pokemon."

"Who?"

"Sylvie. The Sylveon."

Gayle, being new to Kingdra High, was going to ask about Sylvie, but before she could do that, she was distracted by a sudden wave of heat from her left. Turning to look, she and the three other Pokemon saw that the flame on Apollo's tail had grown immensely, and was burning brightly, the Charmeleon's beautiful features contorted into an unmistakable mask of anger.

"Oh, I recognise that look," Julley noted, taking everyone by surprise. "She did it to you too, huh?"

"Yeah. Wait, how did you know? And did you say too?"

"Anyways," Zoey's loud voice rang out above Apollo's questions, drowning his voice out. "We're here now to think of a plan to free Zenith from Sylvie. A way to get Zenith away from Sylvie so we can figure out how to cure him. So, anyone have any ideas?"

"We'll be going for our Post-Exam Activities tomorrow. Let's see here..." Some shuffling of restless bodies as Cleo thumbed through her emails on her phone, searching for information. "Here it is. As part of Kingdra High's Post-Examination Activities, the 16-year-old students will be spending a seven-day six-night staycation at the local beachside resort. where we hope that the students will be able to pick up new skills, as well as master old ones through the assortment of engaging activities that the resort has to offer." Cleo looked up from her screen, shaking with anticipation at the news. "This could be our chance! Ambush Sylvie and Zenith when they're alone by the sea, and with my hydrokinetic powers, we can overpower the both of them and rescue Zenith!"

Zoey mulled over her sister's words for a few minutes, before nodding. "That sounds like a somewhat solid plan. Sylvie will definitely want to tag along with Zenith, so it'll ensure that we know where her location is since we have no idea where she lives in this neighbourhood, or even if she lives in this neighbourhood. With Cleo's abilities strengthened by the ocean, taking Sylvie down should theoretically be a piece of cake."

"What about adults? Our parents? Teachers?" Apollo tried to offer an alternative solution.

"Mom left for a business trip yesterday," Cleo interjected.

"My dad's working the late-night shifts, so he's not home that much. And I from what I've heard from Dad, Zenith's mom works overtime often, so no dice there." Gayle spoke up.

"Not to mention Mrs Sal's a Dragon-type, both weak and powerless against Sylvie's attacks," Zoey added on.

"So... no adult assistance?" Apollo looked around helplessly at other four Pokemon.

"Sorry, dude." Julley gave Apollo a sympathetic pat on the back. "Not to say that the adults are normally useless in situations like this, but none of the trusted adults we know can even help us right now."

-Time Skip-

"Well, see you tomorrow, Apollo." Zoey had concluded their little 'meeting' shortly after agreeing with her sister's plan, and Apollo had offered to walk Gayle home. Even though the Vibrava's doorstep was just directly across Cleo's house, she appreciated his gesture nonetheless. And judging from the expression on Apollo's face, it made his day too. Waving goodbye to Apollo, Gayle closed the front door, shutting out the red glow of the setting sun. She turned around and jumped in shock as she saw Kelli Schoff standing a few centimetres away from her, the Vibrava's face almost touching the Espeon's.

"Your father would be proud to know that you're making new friends."

"Oh. Hey, Kelli. You're home early. How was work?"

"It was nothing. No different from all the other days. But enough about me. Something's wrong, and it's about Zenith, isn't it?"

A few minutes later, Gayle lay on her bed while Kelli sat next to her, listening as she described her meeting with Cleo and the others in meticulous detail. The Espeon said nothing for a while, before swivelling her head around to lock eyes with Gayle.

Gayle felt a slight shudder run through his body as Kelli's white pupils met her own. They were unnerving, and their gaze seemed to stare straight into her soul and know her every thought and intention. Then again, with Kelli's Psychic-type and all, it was very possible.

"So... what are you going to do? You are his mom. Can't you just chaperone the staycation, and help us to free Zenith from Sylvie?"

Kelli shrugged nonchalantly, taking gayle by surprise. "I can't chaperone the staycation even if I wanted to without losing my job. I used up all five of my leave days of the month to spend time with Zenith. And I'm not really that concerned. My Zenith has always gotten into scrapes before and has always come out fine. Although I feel that this time, it might be a little different..." The Espeon's voice trailed off into silence, leaving Gayle to ponder her words.

"You used Future Sight, didn't you? Tell me what happens to Zenith!"

Kelli shook her head at a disappointed Gayle. "I can't tell you. Even if I did, the future can't be altered in any way. I can only see what's going to happen inevitably, not change it. But tell Cleo this: Whatever happens to Zenith, it had to happen." Getting off Gayle's bed, Kelli walked out of the Vibrava's room but stopped at a shout of her name.

"Yes, Gayle?"

"Just wanted to wish you a good night, mom."

Kelli raised her left paw, looking at the gleaming gold ring on her finger, smiling to herself.

"You noticed."

"So, when was the wedding?"

"Wednesday. Zenith helped, even though it was a quick ceremony." Once again, Gayle's eyes picked up a tiny droop of the Espeon's tail and ears when speaking her son's name, and she felt a rush of sympathy for Kelli. Although she acted strong on the outside, she cared deeply about her son on the inside, and was clearly burdened and worried by her knowledge of her son's future, but was unable to do anything to change it. Gayle longed to know what Kelli saw, but finally conceded to the fact that thinking about the future wouldn't make the Espeon elaborate on the topic. Pulling her blankets over her body, Gayle succumbed to sleep, a single, simple phrase remaining in her mind as she started to dream.

_Only time will tell..._


	34. Chapter 34

**NSO Chapter 34**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

It was a beautiful morning. Clouds covered the bright sun, providing momentary relief from its scorching rays. Leaves rustled on nearby trees as a mild breeze blew through them, adding to the rare coolness of the day. If it were any more perfect, Tailows would be chirping and rainbows would be everywhere. The atmosphere was thick with emotion, as a school field full of Kingdra High students gathered, some chattering with excitement about the upcoming staycation, while others grumbled about waking up early to get to school on a weekend. However, the greatness of the day couldn't brighten the solemn moods of two students. Cleo and Gayle pushed their way through the crowd of students, each with luggage in paw and claw, as well as a pack on their backs. They kept an eye out for Zenith, but it didn't take long to find him. The Umbreon, with fur so black that it seemed to absorb the light of day, stood out like a sore thumb amidst a circle of female Pokemon, with a proud Sylveon standing beside him, showing him off to her 'clique'.

Cleo growled an insult under her breath at the sight, while Gayle wondered about the muzzle-like object strapped on Zenith's snout. Borrowing Cleo's phone to snap a photo, the Vibrava sent it to Zoey, hoping for an answer.

.

**Big Sis (Zoey)**

_online_

* * *

Cleo: _IMG-4188. png_

Cleo: _Hey Zoey. Gayle here. Any idea what this is?_

Big Sis (Zoey): **Sorry, no clue. But if it's any help, that thing might be the way Sylvie's keeping Zenith in his altered state. Destroy that thing, and he'll be free.**

Big Sis (Zoey): **Hopefully.**

Cleo: _Thx._

.

Turning back to Cleo, Gayle was about to share her newfound information with the Vaporeon, but was interrupted by the "POP" of a teleporting Pokemon. Mrs Woon the Beheeyem materialised first, before the rest of Kingdra High's teaching staff did the same, appearing behind her. Their sudden appearance took the crowd of rowdy students by surprise, a hush descending upon each and every single one of them. Or maybe it was Mrs Sal's roar of "SHUT UP!" that did the trick. Either way, the students were quiet, allowing the teachers to speak.

"Alright, All Year Fours follow me to the buses," Mrs Sal gestured to her left, where a fleet of buses had hissed to a stop. Their sides opened with a creak, revealing large, empty compartments for luggage. There were words plastered on the side of the vehicles in huge font that read 'Palosand Beach Resort- Once you stay, you won't want to leave!' Students flocked towards the buses in droves, Pokemon shoving others out of the way to try and get the best seats. It was only until they met Mrs Sal's intimidating glare then the huge crowd assembled itself into two neat orderly lines. Cleo and Gayle had been pushed to the end of the line, and could only watch helplessly as Sylvie boarded the bus, followed by Zenith, who bounded up the bus' steps after her. Gayle was hovering in the air to get a better view, looked down to see a Cleo, body shaking and red-faced. Gayle was about to reach out a claw to comfort Cleo, but then realised that the Vaporeon wasn't shaking from anger like she thought, but from sadness instead. Nevertheless, she had to check in on her.

"Hey, Cleo… you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." Cleo's reply was curt, a grim smile on her face. "This just makes it easier for me to beat Sylvie's face into the dirt."

Gayle had no response to that, so she was relieved when the duo's attention was caught by the sound of heavy pants and wheezes behind them. It was Apollo. He was hunched over with exhaustion, beads of sweat forming and evaporating rapidly on his warm brow.

"Sorry… overslept… had to run…" The Charmeleon managed to wheeze out between gulps of air.

"It's fine, Apollo," Gayle patted Apollo's back, her Ground typing allowing her to touch her boyfriend's searing skin. "We're still far from getting on the bus. Should be enough time for you to catch your breath."

By the time the three Pokemon had boarded the bus, the bus containing Sylvie and Zenith was long gone. Sure, Gayle could no longer keep a watchful eye on her step-brother, but at least she could tell Cleo what her mom had told her without the Sylveon eavesdropping on them.

"Whatever happens to Zenith, it … had to happen?" Cleo shared Gayle's confused look at Kelli's ominous and ambiguous message. The two of them were sitting together while Apollo sat with some of his other friends. The noise produced by the rowdy students in the bus provided excellent cover for their conversation to go on undetected.

Gayle shrugged, sympathising with Cleo. "I'm sorry, that's all she told me," The drained, depressed face of Kelli was imprinted on her mind from last night. "But let's not dwell in that for now. Omens can be interpreted in many ways, and not all of them foretell bad things… I hope. Let's just focus on the plan."

"Okay then… I really hope that Zenith's okay."

The Umbreon in question was currently chatting with Sylvie and her circle of friends. When first meeting the Pokemon in Sylbie's clique, he recognised none of them, but names had emerged from the pink, misty depths of his mind as if they had been there forever, reminding him of how he had known them for years.

However, all this was happening on the surface.

Something else was stirring, way deeper beneath the surface.

"Ugh…" Zenith's eyes remained tightly shut as he sat up, rubbing the sides of his head as he willed for the throbbing pain in his temple to vanish.

**Hello there, Zenith. I see you're… awake.**

The voice of Dialga did not surprise Zenith in the slightest, but the Umbreon's sensitive ears picked up a small change. The voice now came from in front of him, much closer than what he expected, instead of schooling and reverberating in his head like usual. This piqued Zenith's curiosity enough for him to push the pain and the urge to go back to sleep aside for a moment and open his eyes.

His mouth followed suit, dropping wide open as he gawked at the figure before him. Sure, it was just Dialga, the familiar voice in his head for many years, but IT WAS DIALGA. The God of Time, the Temporal Pokemon, and many other titles that Zenith couldn't recall right now. All that mattered was that it was Dialga, here in the...flesh? As Zenith extended a paw, wanting to shake a paw or claw, he realised said paw looked wispy and faint, as if it was made completely out of black smoke. And looking down at the rest of his body, the Umbreon gave a sharp yelp at what he saw.

His entire body was made out of black smoke from ears and feet. It moved around slowly while retaining a Zenith-like shape, allowing the Vaporeon to see through himself. He had no bones or internal organs at all, his insides only containing more smoke.

"What am I? Where am I?" Zenith asked as amused Dialga, finally looking around and noticing his strange surroundings for the first time. He was sitting in a field of… pink rose petals? They looked pretty and were soft to the touch, leaving Zenith with an idd desire to sit in the field forever, enjoying the comfort.

**Rise, Zenith.** Dialga's voice, although not coming from every crevice of Zenith's head anymore, still radiated power, and he felt himself get up from the petal field to obey the Time God's order, floating into the air as his smoky appearance allowed him to.

**Firstly, you're in your mind. And secondly, you are a small part of your subconsciousness.**

"A small part? What do you mean?"

**Remember when I summoned you into your own mind to rewatch your fight against Zoey and Julley? I materialised you in your own mind as your full consciousness to see the fight. But now, you are only a small part of it. Not to mention a part of your subconscious, which is even smaller.**

"So if I'm a small part of subconsciousness, where's the rest of it?"

Dialga pointed a claw behind Zenith, and the Umbreon turned to look, his jaw dropping for a second time. A giant Umbreon towered over Zenith, curling up into a ball in the middle of the rose petal field, sound asleep, but even when lying down, it managed to dwarf Zenith with its enormous size.

"THAT's my subconscious? Then where's my consciousness?" The cloudy Umbreon asked Dialga incredulously.

**Yup. Your conscious mind is currently active, but it decides what to do by communicating with your subconscious. An example coming up in three… two… one.**

Back on the bus, one of Sylvie's 'group', a Combusken, brought out a thermos filled with boiling water to enjoy. Suddenly, the bus jerked as it hit a bump in the road, throwing the Combusken off balance and the thermos out of her hands, on a flight path towards the Sylveon.

In his mind, Zenith watched as the giant Umbreon that was his subconscious suddenly opened his eyes, leaping into a standing position from its sleeping state, staring blankly into the distance, while barking out a sudden command that caused Zenith to jump in surprise.

_"Protect Sylvie!"_

Sylvie didn't have enough time to start screaming when she noticed the danger hurtling towards her. A black paw shot past her at blinding speed, grabbing and righting the thermos flask mid-air to prevent it from colliding with its target. The other paw burst any stray hot water droplets so no boiling water from landing on Sylvie, his damaged pain receptors barely registering anything.

Incident over, Zenith's subconscious slowly curled back into a sleeping ball, the vaporous Umbreon turned back to Dialga, now sporting an expression of anger and confusion.

"Why would you let me keep your time powers in this… state? And if that's my subconscious, why am I here instead of there, part of that giant Umbreon?"

Dialga didn't respond to Zenith's questions, but his eyes glowed a bright blue, and the two Pokemon were lifted upwards into the air, soaring closer to the massive sleeping figure that now lay before them.

**So you managed to see everything that happened in reality… interesting, but I guess that being a part of your subconscious allows you to connect to your brain, allowing your current state, as small as it is, full awareness of your senses.** Dialga seemed to ponder this little tidbit for a while, before redirecting his attention back to Zenith.

**Zenith, I cannot take back your given powers away even if I wanted to. It was a gift bestowed from me onto you, a Pokemon I have deemed worthy to wield responsibly. But don't worry, Schroff. I'm Dialga, God of Time. I account for everything. Even though I can't remove your powers, I have diminished them greatly, so now that you're only slightly faster than the average Pokemon.**

"What's an average Pokemon?"

**You know, like a Ninjask.**

"They're, like the fastest Pokemo- never mind that now. Why didn't you just give time powers to Cleo, or Gayle? Give them a better fighting chance to free me?"

**That's a viable suggestion. Tell it to me again when I spend a couple of years hooked up to their minds, knowing how pure their hearts are, their alignment, where they stand on the justice syste-**

"I get it."

**Glad you do. And now for your second question, let us take a bit of a closer look at your subconscious, shall we?**

Before Zenith could respond, a sudden force yanked him forward, even nearer to the giant Umbreon, where Zenith could even reach out a wispy paw to poke it, but his cautious nature prevented him from doing so.

Upon a closer look, Zenith started to notice things about his subconscious that he couldn't when he was a distance away before. Like how the giant Umbreon was made out of little black, furry balls, which writhed and squirmed around incessantly. And as Zenith slowly got closer to examine the balls better, the black spheres closest to him started to… change. They started to vibrate even more violently, slowly mashing and moulding themselves into weird little bean-shaped bodies, which then started to grow front limbs and a head, elongating into a snout, followed by ears, rings and bands. Before the lone, smoky Umbreon knew it, he was looking down at a mass of himself, all twisting and turning their bodies towards Zenith, gnashing their teeth and straining their necks further, trying to grab, bite, get ahold of him. But the creepiest part of the Zeniths were that their facial features were completely blank. No eyes, no nose, nothing. His face was a blank slate, save for a pink ring on their foreheads and a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, snapping at the air in his direction.

Wait. Pink rings? Even when literally inches away from a nasty demise, Zenith couldn't help but look again at the aggressive versions of himself. All of his doppelgangers climbing and crawling over each other had pink rings and bands on their bodies, unlike his blue shiny colours. Even though Zenith was still close, but not as close to himself as before, he realised that even though they reached out to bite him, none of them made the effort to jump out and chomp on him, it was like each Umbreon couldn't leave their own spot in the subconscious.

Having seen enough, Zenith floated back to Dialga's side.

**Do you get it now?**

"I think so. Is the reason why I'm separated from the rest of my subconscious... is because I deviated from the rest of it?"

**Close enough. Allow me to fill in the rest of the blanks. You are different from your current subconscious, not only in terms of appearance, but what you are. You still feel affection for Cleo, while the rest of your subconscious is completely under Sylvie's influence and couldn't give a damn about her. You both have contrasting personalities, and are like two magnets of like poles, repelling each other when in close proximity. That's why your subconscious is so hostile towards you. It, or they can't stand being in your presence**.

Zenith glanced over his shoulder back at his subconscious. Now quite a distance away, the little Umbreons in the big Dark-type were calming down, curling back into little furry balls and melting back into the giant body of the sleeping subconscious.

"So… what do I do now? How do I get back to 'normal'?"

**Sorry, Zenith. If there's a window of opportunity, you can use it to turn the tides in your favour. But right now, there's nothing you can do besides watch and wait. Only the flow of time can determine your fate now.** With that line, Dialga faded out of Zenith's mind, leaving the smoky Umbreon alone drifting through his mindscape. Drifting down on an elevated field of rose petals, he curled up into a ball, mimicking his larger counterpart as he looked down upon his subconscious.

_Watch and wait... watch and wait._

Meanwhile, three buses full of 16-year-old Pokemon squealed to a stop outside of the gates of Palosand Beach Resort.


	35. Chapter 35

**NSO Chapter 35**

I don’t own Pokemon.

* * *

The sun had set on the fourth day of the week-long staycation, and bright stars were now twinkling in the night sky. Most of the students were outside, exploring the resort and partaking in its extensive range of nighttime activities. However, the same could not be said about a pair of Pokemon who were holed up in their room. Sitting on their shared bed, the Water and Dragon/Ground-type duo were staring intently at a phone screen that they held between them. A video call showed Apollo in a secluded part of the resort, his flaming tail illuminating his face and his dark surroundings. Zoey was sitting on a foldable chair, her background a generic retail storeroom with a busy Julley flitting in and out of the video frame behind her, hard at work.

"Okay, everyone's here. You guys have been at the resort for four days now. I presume you've gathered enough information about Sylvie's routines?"

"Just as you asked us to," Apollo started. "It's been the same for the past three days, and no changes today either. They leave the main resort building at around 10 in the morning and head into the forest, spending around two hours there. I would follow them, but you know how bad I am around wood, especially in forests." Apollo hugged his tail to his body self-consciously, keeping the open flame as close to him as possible even though nothing around him looked particularly flammable.

"I followed them into the woods once Apollo asked me for help," Cleo picked up where Apollo had left off. "They go further into the woods, past the small clearing in the middle of all the trees where they hold archery courses. Deeper in, there's this small flat area of dirt hidden by some ferns, probably made and left behind by previous guests. Anyways, they have a picnic there using food from the resort's breakfast buffet, as well as other... things." Cleo visibly shuddered at the memory of the actions she had witnessed over the past few days. Liquifying herself to spy on them had not been not worth it.

"My turn," Gayle took over as Cleo buried her face into a nearby pillow. "After the picnic and... things,"

Cleo's muffled screams could be heard in the background, her shouts suppressed by the thick foam she was pressing her face against. "they leave the forest and head back into the resort for lunch. Sylvie takes that muzzle thing off Zenith so he can eat, by the way. After that, they both go to the beach, where they do more... things..."

More screaming in the background. On one of the days that Gayle was spying on Sylvie and Zenith at the beach, Cleo was swimming in the ocean, oblivious to their presence on the white sands. One look back at the shore, and she saw things that she could never unsee.

"...until we're all called back into the resort for our collective dinner. Again, the muzzle is taken off Zenith. Then they go back into Sylvie's room, and that's their routine for these past few days."

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Zoey's profile, the Glaceon deep in thought, processing all the information that she had heard. It took her quite some time to think of something to say due to the slightly distracting atmosphere of a bustling convenience store. Meanwhile, all the others waited awkwardly as they idled around, trying to pass the time while they waited for a response.

"Okay. First off, good job everyone. You guys did great. I think you've gathered enough info for me to work with. So far there seems to be no change in Sylvie's daily routine, which is good. This makes it easier for us. I've considered all the choices if you guys want to rescue Zenith with the least amount of attention drawn to yourselves. The forest is ideal for a sneak attack, but Apollo might accidentally start a fire and the trees provide cover against aerial support from Gayle. Attacking Sylvie and Zenith in the resort would be counterproductive to what we're trying to achieve, so there's just one option left: Ambush the both of them when they're at the beach. According to the maps of the resort you sent me, the beach is quite far away from the resort building, so there's less risk of attracting unwanted attention. It's an open area, so Gayle has maximum mobility, as well as being both far enough from the ocean for Apollo to battle safely, and close enough for Cleo to utilise the ocean to her fullest potential. Before the ambush, Cleo can hide herself in the ocean. Gayle, is it possible for you to hide in the sand?"

"Piece of cake. I've been doing it ever since I was a Trapinch."

"Great. Apollo, no offence to everything you've done to help us get to this point, but Julley made it clear for me to question your loyalties, just in case."

"None taken. Your logic makes sense to me."

"Okay. Are you completely on board with this plan? If you are, make a promise to keep this entire plan a secret and never tell any other student outside this video call about it."

Apollo placed one clawed hand over his heart and the other in the air. "I, Apollo the Charmeleon, solemnly swear to keep this a secret and never reveal it to anyone else in this school."

"Good. While Gayle and my sister are lying in wait, your role is to make sure that no one else is on the beach before Sylvie and Zenith step onto it. This will prevent Sylvie from calling in reinforcements to help her. Try your best to keep teachers out of this too. We'll do this quickly, and a lack of witnesses means no one else will have to be involved." Another moment of silence as Zoey thought for a while.

"Listen closely now. When no one else is on the beach, and Sylvie and Zenith are in a relaxed state doing their things, this is when both Gayle and Cleo will take them by surprise. Use any means necessary, but make sure that Zenith and Sylvie are separated from each other and incapacitated at the end. Get the muzzle off Zenith, then deal with Sylvie. It's a simple plan. Stick to it, and nothing should go wrong-" Zoey was about to explain further, but was interrupted as the storeroom door in her background slammed open with a 'BANG!', Julley dashing into the room and whispering into the Ice-type's ear.

"I'm sorry guys, but McDonphan's ending my break early. There are way too many customers, and too little staff right now." A reluctant tone could be heard in Zoey's words.

"But it's like… 10:55 pm!"

"Yup. That's the beauty in working for corporate megachains. Probably shouldn't have signed that contract… Anyways, I have to go now. I'll text you tomorrow." With that, Zoey disconnected, her profile disappearing from the video call. The remaining two participants, Gayle and Apollo, stared at each other awkwardly as they processed the plan that Zoey had just dropped upon them.

"Well… there's a firework show starting soon and…"

"Go, you goof. You're gonna miss it. Just remember to rest up okay? Tomorrow's a big day."Gayle smirked at Apollo's sheepish expression, blowing at the screen.

"Thanks a bunch. Well, see you tomorrow, gals. Love you, Gayle!"Catching the kiss, Apollo ended the video call as he left the chat room. Holding the phone in her claws, Gayle's eyes darted to her side, trying discreetly to read the mood around the Vaporeon-shaped pile of blankets that lay beside her. Failing, she gave up and closed the curtains for the balcony, deciding to hit the sack.

Cleo had lost interest in the video call as soon as her sister left, curling up underneath the bed's soft blankets. She tried as hard as she could to not think of Zenith's current state, but it was almost impossible to do so, with tomorrow approaching so quickly. She missed the Umbreon, and his willing rejection of her to Sylvie hurt her in ways, in places that she never knew. Hearing Apollo and Gayle's goodbyes didn't help her feel any better either, even though she tried her best to hide her waves of resentment from the happy Vibrava that snuggled into bed beside her. She wanted to feel happy for Gayle, happy that Gayle had found someone that made her happy when spending time together, but her 'break-up' with Zenith had left a worse impact on the Vaporeon than the others knew about. Zoey had Julley, Gayle had Apollo. No one could empathise with her, causing burning jealousy to stir within Cleo whenever she interacted with the four Pokémon. Each time, she pushed the negative feelings down into the pits of her stomach, where it bubbled furiously underneath a cheery and bubbly attitude.

Cleo got off the bed. She made her way to the room's toilet, mumbling the word to Gayle, who gave a sleepy grunt of acknowledgement. She shut the toilet door behind her and locked it, before stepping into the bathtub, curling up into a ball with her tail wrapped around her. Ever since Zenith's absence, this position was the one she found herself in the most. Her tail mimicking an embrace provided some comfort amid her current predicament. Mimicking all those loving hugs she received from Zenith, but never really thought about till now. As Cleo let loose her suppressed emotions, she wished she could have received one more hug from the Umbreon.

Less tears were shed than she expected. Only a few droplets ran down her pale blue cheeks, creating a small puddle as they splashed onto the bathtub floor. Staring at the pool of salty tears, Cleo realised that there was a part of her that prevented her from shedding any more tears, whispering softly but firmly to Vaporeon. It whispered to Cleo, asking her to stop wallowing in her sorrow, asking her to stay strong for Zenith, just as he always stayed true to her.

 **Well, true for the most part-** _STOP IT!_

The more Cleo thought about it, the more she realised that the little voice within her was right. No more playing the self-pitying, over-reliant Vaporeon anymore. She had proved to Zenith that she was strong, that she could take care of herself.

Now to prove those things to herself.

Getting up from her pity ball, Cleo exited the bathroom, wiping away the last few traces of tears from her face. She got back into bed, pulling the blanket back from an asleep Gayle, the Vibrava's chest rising and falling gently with every breath. By now, Cleo's exhausted mind was shutting down for the day, preparing to get enough rest for the next. Eyelids heavy, Cleo no longer resisted their weight, the darkness of slumber dragging her down into the realm of dreams.

-Time Skip-

The day passed by in excruciating slowness, with each minute leading up to the ambush feeling like an hour. There was still no change in Sylvie's routine, which the three of them appreciated, but were still on high alert for any changes or complications in their plans. While Cleo begrudgingly kept a tab on them in the woods, Gayle continued their previous conversation with Zoey through text.

.

**Zoey**

_Online_

* * *

Gayle: _Finally got your number. No changes in routine so far._

Zoey: **Good. When they reach the beach, use your element of surprise. They'll likely be too shocked to react, and it might be easier to overpower them. Make sure that they have no forms of escape or alerting others. Only after all that is done then you start with Zenith's mask.**

Gayle: _Got it. But what if Mrs Sal catches us?_

Zoey: **Tell her everything. You might still get in trouble, the situation may not get any better, but it's always best to get the adults in on this if they are actually interested in what you guys are doing. But I know that Sylvie has been doing things like this for as long as I've known her. Adults have been notified of her actions multiple times, but nothing's changed. I'm afraid to say that you guys are on your own.**

Gayle: _Thanks for everything._

Zoey: **Good luck.**

.

Time started to speed up now as the moment drew closer. Lunch was finished in a flash and before she knew it, Gayle had buried herself in the sand, her entire body covered in the grains save for her two antennae, their colour blending in perfectly with the environment, as well as being short enough to avoid detection. A few metres away, Cleo was swimming in the ocean waves as they crashed rhythmically onto the shore, her invisibility in water giving her the perfect hiding spot. Both were waiting for Sylvie and Zenith to step onto the world-renowned beaches of Palossand Resort. Gayle's antennae acted as a radar and would notify her if they sensed a newcomer on the beach. The Vibrava was also wearing a tiny earpiece, which she was using to communicate with Apollo, who was supposed to notify her about Sylvie's current whereabouts and actions.

"Any sign of her yet?"

"None so far. She's still in the main resort building. She's staying in there much longer than usual. Do you think she might be- nevermind. She's coming, on your ten."

Gayle had already sensed the duo's presence, her antennae alerting her to their position as soon as their paws touched the sand. From her position in the ocean, Cleo watched Sylvie through hatred-filled eyes as the Sylveon led Zenith across the beach, both of them each carrying a mat and towel on their backs. Finding a suitable spot, they laid their mats next to each other. Neither of them seemed to be bothered by the lack of Pokemon on the beach since it was already like this for the past few days whenever they showed up. Apollo didn't have to do much, no one wanted to witness Sylvie and Zenith's acts of 'passion'. The Charmeleon was currently sitting on a bench some distance away from the beach, trying to act nonchalant to avoid attracting suspicion. As for Mrs Sal, she was on the opposite end of the resort, helping some students at the arts and crafts table. The three of them were in the clear.

But what Cleo couldn't clear from her memory was the scene happening in front of her. She had seen it multiple times before, when scouting out with Gayle and had hated it. But now, as she lay in wait, time seemed to slow once more, dragging out every single excruciating second of it that she had to witness.

Sylvie and Zenith lay on the mats that they had laid out, but none of them seemed to be enjoying the cool sea breeze, or the warm tanning rays of the sun. Instead, they were staring intently into each other's eyes. Sylvie made the first move, leaning towards Zenith and pressing her lips against his. Cleo watched in disgust as the two before her began another make-out session, this one more intense than the one they had in the forest. They lunged towards each other, wrapping their limbs around one another in a large embrace. Frisky paws were caressing any part they could reach, and the duo rolled around on the sand, mats forgotten as both their tongues and bodies battled for dominance. Cleo pushed down another rising wave of anger, forcing herself to stay calm as she watched Zenith's paws travel down to Sylvie's ass. The water surrounding Cleo seemed to pulse with her strong emotions as two smacks were heard, followed by a moan.

S _tay cool, Cleo. It's not time yet. You'll have your revenge soon._

Cleo battled the urge to attack the both of them right now, although she was considering giving in to it.

_Cleo, control yourself! Gayle said to wait for her signal! We only have this one shot to attack them when they're at their most vulnerable!_

**Yeah, but what does 'most vulnerable' even mean anyway? Attack when they're out of breath from their five-minute-and-counting makeout session, or wait until they take it one step further THEN attack?**

The Vaporeon's paws were twitching restlessly as she swam up another wave to make sure she didn't miss Gayle's signal, even though she wasn't sure how much longer she could avert her eyes from the 'main attraction' before she had to claw them out. Couldn't Gayle just give them the go-ahead already? Cleo flicked on the water-resistant communicator that Gayle had given her and spoke into it.

"Hey Gayle, Cleo here. Can we just attack them now? I don't think I can watch much more of this."

"Hang in there, Cleo. We just need to wait until-"

Gayle's sentence was involuntarily cut off from Cleo as a sudden strong current whipped the communicator out of the Vaporeon's paws, dragging it deeper into the ocean, further and further away from the shore.

"Shit! Come back here, you little-" Cleo immediately turned and sped after the drifting communicator, determined to retrieve it no matter what. It must have cost Gayle a pretty penny to be able to get her claws on these cool pieces of tech, and Cleo was not going to deprive Gayle of one just because of her poor grip.

On the other end, Cleo's irritated tone was abruptly interrupted by the swishing of the ocean currents. Gayle heard Cleo swear, followed by the sound of powerful tail strokes, which slowly grew fainter and fainter.

"-after they stop kissing. Are you there, Cleo?"

No response.

"Looks like we're going to have to stall. You ready, Apollo?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

Just as Apollo replied, Sylvie and Zenith separated from their kiss, both of them gasping for the oxygen that they had been deprived of from the last ten minutes.

"Now!" Her wings a blur, Gayle shot out of the sand, flying at top speed towards the duo laying on the beach. Her wings made no sound as they beat the air, and with Sylvie and Zenith staring at the horizon, panting heavily, neither of them noticed the Vibrava approaching them from the rear. As Gayle flew, her green wings took on a metallic sheen, her already tough wings becoming even tougher. From the week she had spent with Apollo in Battle Camp, she had honed her skills until her Steel Wing was powerful enough to knock a Pokemon unconscious in a single blow. With that move at the ready, Gayle aimed herself at the back of Sylvie's head, determined to end the fight as quickly as she had started it.

About a metre away from Sylvie, Gayle curled herself into a ball, her steel-like wings spread wide open, edges angled directly at the Sylveon. The Vibrava started to spin rapidly, becoming a small, spinning ball of hurt, all of which to be brought to a certain Pokemon in three… two… one…?

Just mere centimetres away from her target, Gayle felt a warm, pink glow completely envelop her, stopping her cold in her tracks. Confused, Gayle uncurled her body, her wings returning to their normal hue as she looked around, trying to find the source of interference that held her in place, no matter how much she struggled to break free.

"Gayle, Gayle, Gayle…"

The Vibrava snarled at the silky-soft, dulcet tone of the words, and even more so at the Pokemon who had turned around to speak those words. Sylvie had a smug, triumphant look on her face, whereas Zenith's expression was unreadable, the muzzle covering all his facial features except for his eyes.

"...did you really think you could take me by surprise? I have eyes and ears everywhere. It wasn't hard to discover that little plan of yours, and it was even easier to prepare for it."

"This doesn't change anything! I'll still beat you into the sand, once I get out of this Psychic!" Gayle continued struggling, but her efforts remained futile.

Gayle cringed as tinkly laughter assaulted her ears.

"Oh, silly, silly Gayle. If you haven't realised by now, the Psychic's not from me. In fact, I'd like you to meet a few of my friends."

"Gotcha!" Cleo put on a burst of speed, shooting forward through the water to wrap her paw around the communicator, which had been swept into a tall forest of kelp by the swift current, where it had gotten tangled up in the long, thick stalks. Pulling the communicator out of the kelp, Cleo swam up, her head breaking the surface of the choppy ocean. She looked towards the shore, and the noises coming from the still transmitting communicator seemed to confirm her fears.

"Crap. I gotta get over there. Fast!"

Back on the beach, the pink glow that held Gayle floating in the air vanished, causing her to face-plant on the sand. Wiping the small, gritty particles off her face, Gayle realised that she had company. A Milotic, Roselia and a Gardevoir stood around Gayle, forming a circle with Sylvie and Zenith to surround the Vibrava. Gayle noticed Apollo wrapped tightly in the coils of the Milotic, staring at her through apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry," he mouthed. "They overpowered me."

Analysing her current situation, Gayle had to admit that the plan was not going as 'simply' as Zoey said that it would. But it was too late to text the Glaceon for advice now. She had to think on her feet, figure out a way to turn the tides in her favour. All she had to do was to get the muzzle off Zenith. Judging from the Umbreon's aggressive stance, it was more than likely that he would not be going down without a fight. It would be tough, but they had to at least try, right?

Keeping her body close to the sand, Gayle closed her eyes and concentrated, while Sylvie laughed at what she assumed to be the Vibrava's defeated posture. The laughing soon stopped as the ground started to quake under the Sylveon's feet, a small grumbling turning into a roar as the ground started to shake vigorously, unbalancing Gayle's surprised opponents. As the five Pokemon wobbled around, trying to keep their footing on the unstable ground, Gayle seized her chance. She shot off the ground, snatching Apollo out of the Milotic's slackened grip and carrying him out of the Earthquake's range.

"Thanks for the save, but that Earthquake won't last for long. Where's Cleo?"

Gayle directed her goggle-like eyes towards the shore, enhancing her telescopic vision until she saw a familiar frilled figure zooming towards the shore, leaving a frothy V-shaped trail of seafoam in her wake. Even though the figure was speeding towards the shore, it would take a minute or two before she could get here.

"We're going to have to buy her a few more minutes.”

"So. Two of us against five of them. No sweat."

"Exactly. Just watch out for Zenith. He's fast." The Earthquake had stopped by now, Sylvie and her friends still stumbling around dizzily. Gayle started flying around them, picking up speed as she circled the five Pokemon. Her strong wing beats sent sand flying up into the air, getting sucked into the wind vortex that was being created. The more Gayle flew, more and more sand was sucked in, until the whirling sand formed a thick enough layer that the vortex looked solid enough to touch. As Zenith shook off the last of his dizziness away along with the other Pokemon beside him, they found themselves in the middle in a raging tornado of sand.

Joining Battle Camp with Gayle made Apollo familiar with all of her moves, including the few combo moves that they had come up with during the seven-day course. He breathed a steady stream of flame at the sand-filled vortex, creating a Fire Spin along with the Sand Tomb. The fire's heat seeped into the middle of the ring of moving sand, and it was beginning to take a visible toll on the Pokemon trapped in it. Steam began to rise from the Milotic's body as the layer of water on her skin started to slowly evaporate, making the air more humid than before. Rivulets of sweat were running down all of their faces, and some of them seemed to be on the verge of collapse from the heat. Holding Sylvie close to him, Zenith charged up a Dark Pulse in his mouth, eyes scanning the revolving pillar around him, searching fervently for a flash of green and black.

Apollo gasped, stopping his fire as an explosion sounded out from inside the Sand Tomb, and a wounded Gayle was blasted out of the vortex she had created. As Gayle was out of action, the wind slowly slowed to a stop, and the heat slowly disappeared along with it. All that was left was the sand, but it had changed.

Apollo's fire had another effect besides affecting the Pokemon in the vortex. As the Charmeleon fed more and more flames into the Sand Tomb, the heat trapped in the sand combined with the high temperatures of his fire had melted the sand to form a thick cylinder of glass that had the five Pokemon trapped again.

Apollo looked down at the Vibrava that he had caught hurling through the air. Luckily, there was only a large bruise forming on the side where the Dark Pulse has struck her, but that single move had dealt enough damage to ensure that Gayle wouldn't be in fighting shape for a while. Zenith really wasn't pulling any punches. Cradling the groaning Vibrava in his arms, Apollo faced his opponents, the tinkling of broken glass signalling that they had broken out of their temporary prison… before turning tail to flee from the beach.

Sylvie gave her friends a confused look, the similar expression visible on their faces as well before all of them burst into laughter. Zenith stayed silent, his muzzle preventing him from speaking, scanning his surroundings warily, suspicious about Apollo's hasty retreat.

"Look at those two! Running away like cowa-AAH!" Sylvie's mocking words turned into a high-pitched scream as she was tackled by Zenith, the Umbreon flinging her onto his back and diving away from the others. A second later, a huge wave crashed down onto the beach, barely missing the Umbreon and Sylveon, who watched as the other three Pokemon disappeared from view as the wave crashed down on them. As the rest of the seawater was washed back into the ocean, Sylvie's three friends were gone, and standing in their place was a seething Vaporeon.

"Let. Him. GO!" Cleo roared in frustration and hatred, and the ocean seemed to explode, sending up spray as multiple tendrils of water shot out of the surface of the sea, all of them targeting Zenith and Sylvie. The Umbreon leapt and dodged around Sylvie, evading tendrils while using moves to get rid of the tendrils near the Sylveon, who also tried to hold her own against Cleo's onslaught. However, Cleo wasn't playing around anymore. The longer the battle was prolonged, more and more tendrils shot out of the sea, all of them converging on their targets. Even with the combined efforts of Sylvie and his speed, it was almost a matter of time before the inevitable occurred. A tendril snagged Zenith's hind leg as he dashed, sending him sprawling across the sand. Without Zenith, it wasn't long before Cleo got ahold of Sylvie too, the Sylveon shrieking as a tendril wrapped itself around her waist, hoisting her up into the air.

More tendrils wrapped around Zenith's limbs and body, wrapping him up so tightly that the only movable part of his body was his chest, which rose and fell with each breath. The same thing was done to Sylvie, but she was held high in the sky, while Zenith was brought face-to-face with Cleo.

"Oh, Zenith. What did she do to you?" Cleo dropped her tough-girl facade, worry replacing the steely glint in her eyes. Her paws were brought up to the muzzle, searching for a stop, a button, a... anything that would release the evil contraption from Zenith's face.

"Cleo! You're finally here!" Zenith shouted out. Well, lone, cloudy Zenith shouted out. Happiness flooded through whatever system he had as the sight of a familiar, beloved face. However, the rest of his consciousness didn't seem to feel the same way. Giant subconscious Zenith narrowed his eyes, hackles raised at the Vaporeon and the silhouette of a shadowy orb started to appear in its mouth.

"No!" Panicking, lone Zenith rushed at the rest of his subconscious, slamming against a leg with his flank in desperation. It didn't seem like much, but it was certainly enough to redirect his subconscious's current attention. 'Remember Cleo!" Lone Zenith shouted with all his might at the humongous figure that towered over him, but it was no use. Lone Zenith found himself running away from his subconscious, the multiple interfused Umbreons that it was made up of snapping at his heels. As lone Zenith ran, a miniature Dialga appeared by his side, hovering in the air. "Zenith! You do know that it can't remember who Cleo is, right? You're the only part of your subconscious that does remember her, so the only way to restore your own memory is to rejoin your subconscious. You just have to wait for the right time to do so,"

"When _is_ the right time?" Lone Zenith yelped as he ducked, feeling warm, rancid breath on the back of his ears as he avoided a bite from an attacking faceless Umbreon.

"You'll know it when you know it. Good luck!" With a flash, the small Dialga disappeared, leaving Lone Zenith alone once more, fleeing into his mind's endless mindscape from the rest his subconscious.

 _Legendaries. Don't you just love_ them?

A growl of annoyance escaped Cleo's gritted teeth. She had been examining Zenith's muzzle, and yet there was no sign of any mechanism to release the contraption's grip on the Umbreon's face. She ignored the smug look on Sylvie's face as she continued to work on the device, but she could feel her mental hold on the water tendrils weakening with every passing minute. It took a large amount of concentration and energy to maintain her multitasking, and the Pokemon she 'held' in her grasp certainly didn't seem like going down without a fight. Sylvie and Zenith, as immobilised by the water as they were, Cleo could feel both of them writhing around madly, trying their hardest to free themselves.

"Gayle! A little help here?" The Vibrava, now recovered, had been standing with Apollo at the far side of the beach, staring in awe at Cleo's amazing hydrokinetic acts. At the sound of her name, she was jolted into action, spreading her wings to zoom to Cleo's side, ready to help in any way she could. Apollo just remained where he was, hugging his tail close to his chest, staring in the direction of the ocean for any signs of Sylvie's three missing friends.

"What do you need, Cleo?"

"Help- remove- this- from- Zenith," Cleo was now sitting on the sandy surface of the beach, holding her head, brows furrowed in deep concentration. Every word she spoke was strained, the articulation requiring almost all of her mental concentration in her already busy mind. "Hurry!"

Hearing the urgency in Cleo's words, Gayle took off as fast as she could, flying past Zenith to reach Sylvie, who was still held up high in the air.

"What is that thing on my brother's face? And how do you get it off?"

"Why should I feel obliged to tell you in the first place?"

"I suggest that you should if you currently prefer your pretty little head still attached to your neck."

"...fine. That thing's a love Muzzle. To get it off, well... it can only be removed via a vocal password from me." A smug smile crept its way onto Sylvie's face, irritating Gayle to no end. Talking was getting her nowhere. maybe it was time for intimidation. Coating her wings in a Steel Wing, Gayle perched on the water tendril, pressing her diamond-shaped wings against Sylvie's neck, so close that she could feel and see the Sylveon gulp.

"I'm not going to repeat my previous threat. Get the muzzle off Zenith. NOW."

Sylvie sighed. "Such brutal methods. But it looks like I have no other choices. The password is... sucker."

"Wait, sucker as in-CLEO WATCH OUT!" Gayle instinctively ducked, a Hydro Pump narrowly missing her head. From the corner of her wide range of vision, Gayle noticed a few green shapes hurtling through the air, towards the back of the Vaporeon sitting on the beach. Luckily, Apollo was there in a flash, carving up most of the Razor Leaves into harmless shreds. However, some managed to slip past his defences, slamming into Cleo's back at alarming speeds. The Vaporeon cried out in pain, falling face forward as she was caught off guard by the surprise attack. With her concentration fully broken, the water tendrils lost their solidity, obeying the natural laws of gravity and physics, returning to their original liquid state. The large amounts of seawater fell onto the shore, turning the sand soggy. Free of their bonds, Zenith and Sylvie were released from the tendrils, falling onto the soft, waterlogged sand with a squelch.

Gayle was shocked at how the tables had turned a second time, this unexpected turn of events leaving her disoriented as she tried to comprehend what to do next. She tried to rush to her injured friend but was hit by an Ice Beam in the wings, sending her careening off course to crash on the pavement that separated the beach from the rest of the resort. Smacking onto the cold, hard surface, there she lay, groaning as Apollo rushed to her side again, now with a Vaporeon slung over his shoulders.

Sylvie looked towards the direction her assistance had come from, where a Gardevoir was standing on the long back of a Milotic, using Psychic to levitate a Roselia in the air. All were sharing the same smug look that Sylvie wore on her face.

"Well, looks like we've really taught them a lesson they'll never forget, right Zenith?"

"We have to help them! They're hurt badly! Why won't you listen to me?" Zenith yelled at his giant subconscious counterpart. It had stopped chasing him in order to respond to the surprise attack by Sylvie's friends and was now curling back into a sleeping ball, the danger seemingly gone. In a fit of rage at his current helpless state, Zenith struck out harder against his subconscious, charging up a Dark Pulse and sending it flying. He was still surprised that he could still use his moves even in his smoky state, but he wasn't one to look a gift Mudsdale in the mouth. More Dark Pulses and Shadow Balls were hurled at his subconscious, the multiple Umbreons that the moves connected with crying out in pain.

If a weak slam against the leg already made his subconscious angry, it must be absolutely infuriated now. Zenith could tell, leaping backwards to barely avoid a lightning-quick lunge in his direction. His subconscious' face and body was writhing, struggling mess of faceless Umbreons, all of them straining forward, snapping their jaws to try to bite a chunk out of the Pokemon before them. Zenith held a steady, defiant gaze with his subconscious, starting at where its eyes should be as the both of them got into an attacking crouch, tensing up the muscles in their hind legs.

"If I'm going to be stuck 'loving' Sylvie forever, might as well take a few of you guys down with me," With a guttural roar from both sides, large and small Umbreon leapt at each other, both intent on destroying the other.

"Zenith? Oh yeah, you can't speak. Well, the pheromones should be permanently circulating in your bloodstream by now. Looks like we don't need this thing anymore." There was a click as a hidden button was pushed, and an automated voice spoke out.

"Please enter the vocal password."

"Oral." Another click and the muzzle detached itself from Zenith's face. He pulled the contraption off his snout, storing it in one of the pockets in his utility belt for safekeeping.

"There we go. The gas you inhaled should be able to keep you in your current state for about… eight, maybe nine years. How are you feeling?"

"Perfect. So what do you want to do now?"

"Well, for starters…" As Sylvie chattered on to Zenith, another Eeveelution was being jolted awake by the bumpy ride she was having on Apollo's shoulder. An unconscious Gayle was in Apollo's arms while she was on her shoulder. Apollo, carrying two injured Pokemon, was the target of all three of Sylvie's friends, ducking and jumping to avoid attacks. But as hard as he tried, Apollo wouldn't be able to dodge all these combined moves sent his way. As he leapt upwards to dodge a Petal Blizzard, he failed to notice a blue fanned tail swinging towards him. It smashed against his side, sending the Charmeleon and the Pokemon he was carrying flying.

Cleo hit the damp sand again, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Her vision was spinning, and while her senses recovered, she surveyed her surroundings dazedly. On her left, Gayle lay in a crumpled heap on the sand like her, and it looks like the Milotic, Gardevoir and Roselia had chosen to finish her off first. Thankfully, Apollo had gotten back up on his feet. He stood in front of Gayle, trying his hardest to keep the three of them at bay. And on her right was…

The ocean. If she could just reach the water, she could heal up and get back into the fight. Slowly but surely, Cleo crept towards the waves lapping the shore, wincing as the keeping her body as close to the ground as possible, trying to avoid detection.

"...and finally, I think we have a few things that need taking care of before we can get started on those plans. Things like..." Sylvie trailed off as she searched the beach, eyes scanning every nook and cranny until her gaze landed on who she wanted to find. Cleo, who was creeping towards the ocean, freezing in place when she heard Sylvie stop talking. There was a brief moment where Cleo and Sylvie's eyes met, and Cleo knew she had been discovered, booking it towards the water as fast as she could. However, it wasn't fast enough. In her already injured state, Cleo was no match for Zenith. The Umbreon caught up to her in no time at all, pouncing on Cleo and sending her crashing to the ground. Cleo flailed and struggled wildly, but it was useless against the pinning pressure of his front paws on her back.

Sylvie slowly sashayed over, bending down to Cleo's level, but forcing the Vaporeon's head upwards for her eyes to meet her own.

"Let's start with you first, shall we? And when I finally remove the main opposition, perhaps I'll be more merciful and let your friends off." Sylvie motioned for Zenith to keep holding her down, charging up a white light in her mouth as she did so. Cleo's eyes widened in fear as she felt the heat radiating from Sylvie's soon-to-be attack. She had considered the consequences of she had lost the fight but had nothing this severe.

"Keep her steady, Zenith. This move is so amazing, it will literally blow her mind." A small chuckle from Sylvie at her own joke as the light between her jaws slowly grew bigger. She was toying with Cleo, and the Vaporeon knew it, drawing out the last few moments of her life left, enjoying the smell of her fear scent. Cleo tried to call the water towards her, but all her energy had been drained from the earlier fight, and her mind was now filled thoughts for a quick nap.

"Zenith," Cleo lifted her head to try to look at the Umbreon, but was unable to as the pressure applied on her back increased. "Please… Zenith. The real you has to be in there somewhere. Fight it!" She managed to croak out before her head was forced roughly to the ground, the slam finally sending the Vaporeon to dreamland.

And fighting it Zenith was. As he leapt at his subconscious, he charged up multiple Dark Pulses, detonating them under his belly. Umbreon jaws snapped at thin air where he once was as Zenith rocketed high into the sky. He had no idea what would happen if he or his subconscious was defeated, but it didn't matter to him anymore. While airborne, Zenith twisted his body as he plummeted towards the ground, aiming at a pink ringed Umbreon that was located on the top of his head, planning to strike it with all his might.

But instead of paws hitting solid flesh, Zenith was taken by surprise when his paws seemed to enter the targeted Umbreon, along with the rest of his body. As he did so, the Umbreon's rings turned from pink to blue, and a pair of crimson red eyes opened where a blank face once was. But as quickly as the transformation occurred, it reversed at an even faster speed, with Zenith leaping back out of the Umbreon, bringing its changed features with it. Detonating another Dark Pulse, he retreated, leaping away from Umbreon jaws to safety. After distancing himself from his large opponent, Zenith caught his breath from his hasty getaway, as well as took some time to register what he had just experienced.

It was like diving into a deep pool of warm honey, a sticky sensation that slowed his movements. In the midst of the pink mist that surrounded him, Zenith saw a pinprick of blue. As he got closer, he felt himself slowly grow into what felt like a new skin outside his own one. Finally reaching the light, he opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by faceless Umbreons, They were snapping at his direction, but none made contact, seemingly hesitant to attack one of their own. Recalling any forms of memories, Zenith found that he still retained his memories, in addition to a couple new ones that popped up when remembering. There was the one where he was losing badly to Kurt, along with the time that Sylvie had been knocked out by an Ice Beam/ Bullet Punch combo in a match against… shiny haters? And the other time when he was fretting about Sylvie's willingness to test his… growth potions? This wasn't right. With every memory with Cleo in it, the Vaporeon was missing, replaced by Sylvie. The memories were also different from the originals, coming up with new scenarios to fill in the logical gaps that had been exposed with Cleo's removal.

However, as Zenith hid under a ridge he found in his mindscape, he reflected on those memories and noticed a running theme in every single one of them. All those were related to the times that he had felt feelings of worry, or anxiety. Somehow all of those Umbreons seemed to represent his primal emotions, and they had been 'hacked', the memories they contained altered in order to make him prefer Sylvie to Cleo. If this was happening to all those Umbreons in his subconscious, the one that must be affected the most should be the one in charge of love. Control that, and Zenith should be able to rid himself pf the gas Sylvie was pumping into him. In theory. Sure, it was a half-baked plan full of flaws, assumptions and logical leaps, but what else did Zenith have to lose at this point?

With that thought, Zenith stepped out from behind his hiding spot, running at his subconscious again, but this time charging with all his might like a raging Bouffalant. A simple tap against the leg probably wouldn't do it. His smoky feet made no sound against the surface of his mindscape even as he ran, so the faceless Umbreons didn't manage to sense his presence until it was too late for them. Dodging a clumsy swing, Zenith rammed himself into the nearest Umbreon, delving from body after body like a Gyrados leaping its way up a waterfall, reliving all sorts of memories as he sifted through them, looking for the right ones. It took him a while, experiencing many mood swings as he switched from emotion to emotion, but he eventually managed to find the one he was looking for, located where the heart would be in an actual Umbreon. Unlike the rest, this Umbreon didn't attack him, and had eyes, although they were closed. It was curled up in a ball, an expression of discomfort visible on its face. A bright pink light was pouring out of every crevice in its body in a sort of mist that filled its surroundings. It was flowing out of its rings, mouth, and even from under its closed eyelids.

 **This is the one.** Zenith jumped as the tiny Dialga appeared again, hovering over his shoulder.

_Oh. I wouldn't have noticed. What gave it away, Sherlock? And why weren't you helping me just now?_

**I'm a Legendary, Zenith. I'm only here because your life interests me. I don't have to do anything for you.**

_Keep saying that. Now if you excuse me, I have a body to take back. Zenith leapt into the glowing pink Umbreon, Dialga staying back to watch as he disappeared completely into the curled-up body._

**… I feel like I've been shoehorned in.**

The in-body experience with this one was different from the other bodies Zenith had entered. The entry process was even slower, like a pool of treacle that clung to his fur, slowing his progress towards that familiar blue light down to a crawl. More pink mist was swirling around him than ever, trying to curl around his limbs to drag him away from the light, deeper into the pink depths.

Battling off the mist and moving upwards at the same time in slow motion was tough, but Zenith eventually managed to make the long climb/swim to the blue light. Like all the other times, the blue light was emanating from a hole hardly bigger than his head. Grasping the sides of the hole, Zenith stuck his head through, feeling the familiar sensation of taking control. All memories popping up had reverted back to their pre-altered state, with Sylvie nowhere in sight.

Slowly, the bright pink glow surrounding the curled Umbreon faded, turning into a dim blue colour. However, the pink mist was still present, and it had caught ahold of Zenith's hind limbs, threatening to pull him out from the blue hole.

He was back, with full control of his body. But for how long?

Zenith was forcefully thrust back into the real world, but he had no time to celebrate. Recalling recent memories, he brought himself up to speed on the current situation. By now, Sylvie had reached the end of her self-initiated countdown. Just as she was going to fire the glowing white ball into Cleo at point-blank range, Zenith utilised his Dialga-nerfed time powers, leaping off Cleo's back to kick Sylvie in the chest, trying to get the Sylveon as far away from Cleo as possible. The ball of white light was fired wildly into the sky, soaring through the air in a lazy arc as gravity took ahold of it. As it headed towards the ground, it split and fragmented itself until the sky was full of tiny diamond-shaped crystals of light, the telltale shape of a Dazzling Gleam.

Zenith analysed the situation as he considered his possible options. Sylvie had now hit the sand, sputtering out grains in surprise and confusion. Unfortunately, Zenith had kicked her out of the range of her own attack, which was descending upon both him and Cleo in a deadly shower. With his power nerfed, there was not enough time for him to get Cleo and himself to safety. Tackling Cleo to the sand, Zenith hugged her, making sure that every part of her body was sheltered under him as his back faced the upcoming attack.

The attack was a brutal one, hundreds of tiny razor-sharp shards embedding themselves in Zenith and the sand around him. The super-effective move ripped right through skin and flesh, eliciting a grunt of pain from Zenith, whose damaged pain receptors dulled the normally excruciating pain, preventing Zenith from bearing the full brunt of the pain and passing out.

Zenith quickly grabbed the sides of Cleo's face with both paws, directing the surprised Vaporeon to look into his crimson eyes, rid of their previous light pink sheen.

"Okay, Cleo. I'm not sure how much time I have. I'm going to get you to the ocean. Do whatever you need to do, but remember to rinse me out. In and out. Got it?" Everything was a blur for Cleo, with Zenith's sudden change of sides to hasty instructions shoved in her face. All she could do was nod dimly, remembering Zenith's instructions to decipher later.

"Good. I love you. Now go!" Zenith forcefully pushed Cleo in the direction of the ocean, which she stumbled blindly towards. As soon as her paws came into contact with a wave lapping the shore, Cleo overcame her stunned senses to realise the situation at hand, turning tail and leaping into the ocean, another more focused Dazzling Gleam nearly missing her head as she swam into its depths. Meanwhile, Zenith reached towards his back, pulling out two of the tiny shards that stuck themselves in there. He winced, raw flesh stinging as it was exposed to the warm, salty sea air of the afternoon. He decided to leave the rest there to avoid bleeding out too much from his wounds, and looking like a pincushion, staggered back in hours feet to meet a fuming Sylvie.

The expression on Sylvie's face was one of angry bewilderment, struggling to understand Zenith's recent actions. "What did you do that for? You let her get away!"

"That was the point, Sylv-slut." Zenith's tone was cold, dripping with contempt as he addressed the Sylveon before him. "We both know that my heart belongs to Cleo. I never could, and never would truly love you. Just give... it... up..."

Zenith lurched to one side, a front paw collapsing as the strength in his limb faded away, too weak to support his weight. He was panting heavily in exhaustion as rivulets of blood oozed out of multiple puncture wounds, which were slowly widening from his every movement. The sand around him was starting to turn an ugly shade of maroon. As Zenith felt more and more of his energy seep out of his body along with the red liquid, his vision grew increasingly hazy and unfocused, seeing two copies of Sylvie walk towards him, unable to concentrate on her expression. He was losing too much blood and needed to heal, fast.

"It's a pity, love." Thin, pink tendrils wrapped themselves around the shards protruding from Zenith's back. Sylvie didn't even need to use that much force. The shards sliced smoothly through flesh as they were pushed deeper into his body, forcing Zenith to the ground.

"We would have made a great couple." Every shard in Zenith was sharply twisted, causing the Umbreon to cry out in pain beyond what his damaged pain receptors could dull. Shards were then extracted from Zenith as slowly as possible, Sylvie smiling sadistically as open wounds filled up with blood.

"But you just had to resist me, go back to someone who's way below our league. Now that I can't stand. And look at how choosing that decision went. There's hardly anything left of you to love. Not even your friends can save you now." Behind the Sylveon, Apollo and Gayle, both bruised and battered, were retreating from the three pursuing Pokemon, bombarding the both of them with attacks.

"Great. Now the rest of the day is wasted on waiting for you to die so I can dispose of your body and move on. I could make this quick…" Zenith could feel a claw travel slowly along his neck, dragged along his skin hard enough to leave a mark, but soft enough so no blood was drawn.

"... but what's the fun in that? But if I'm going to be completely honest with you, Zenith, it's really a shame to see you go. I didn't want to have to kill you, but you know too much, way more than the others. I can't let you free to run around with that sort of info. Oh well, I guess there's plenty more fish in the sea." Sylvie pulled out the last of the shards, enjoying the squelch as it was removed before the sharp blades dissipated into light, leaving no traces of their existence.

Zenith lolled lifelessly to one side. He could feel the multiple punctured organs within him beginning to fail, but he saw something from the corner of his peripheral vision that put a small smile on his face.

"Well… there's more… than just fish… in the sea…" Zenith managed to cough out with what remaining breath he had left, leaving Sylvie staring in surprise as a column of water crashed down on the beach upon the Umbreon, surrounding and suspending him in the clear, blue water pillar, resembling a specimen in a stasis tube. The painful sting of seawater on wounds was absent, but he could instead feel the familiar healing effects of an Aqua Ring work its magic upon his body, slowly but steadily restoring him back to prime form.

Meanwhile, the water level of the ocean seemed to drop significantly, the waves receding so far back that some parts of the seafloor were visible. All of the disappearing water seemed to be sucked into a giant sphere of water hovering above the surface of the ocean. The sphere was fairly large, about the size of a hot air balloon. As it started twisting and pulsing, Sylvie and her friends stared in shock as the sphere moulded itself into a hulking figure, its shadow completely dwarfing the four Pokemon as it towered over them.

"Stay away from him!" A roar from the giant Vaporeon sent mild tremors across the entire beach, unbalancing the Milotic, Gardevoir and Roselia that were charging towards her. Cleo batted them away effortlessly with a humongous paw, watching as the trio soared into the sky. It was said that seeing a flying Milotic would instantly quell any hostile thoughts that one had, but Cleo wasn't having any of that. All she wanted to do was to get Sylvie as far away from Zenith as possible.

Hurtling through the air, the three female Pokemon considered their choices. Sure, they may get beaten into a pulp if they continue their fight with Cleo, but they would definitely suffer a worse fate should they abandon Sylvie and the Sylveon win the battle. Activating her psychic abilities, the Gardevoir surrounded herself and the nearby Milotic in a pink glow, using Telekinesis to zoom themselves back to the beach. The Roselia, way too far from the Gardevoir's range, continued to fall.

Mrs Sal sat at the Arts and Crafts Workshop section of the resort, admiring the painting that she had just completed. One teacher chaperoning over a few hundred students was near impossible, so the Salamence had decided to spend the rest of her 'break' trying to unwind. Setting the painting on the top of her pile of completed canvases, she let out a contented sigh. It was nice to relax for once, especially when her entire life revolved around teaching others how to battle. However, the once peaceful, tranquil silence of the workshop was broken by the sound of splintering wood. Looking back, the Salamence found a Roselia that had appeared out of nowhere, sitting dazedly in the middle of broken and torn pieces of canvas, obliterating the entire pile of artwork despite her small frame. As the Roselia covered in still-drying paint scurried off into the woods where Mrs Sal could not follow, the Salamence's sharp mind, which she had planned to let it rest for the duration of the trip, reluctantly began to turn its gears again. The Roselia clearly came from a fight. She normally didn't care about things like those, being a teacher of Battle Training and all, but a battle that sent a Pokemon flying through the air like that? Now that was a fight that she had to break up.

Zenith floated in the little pillar of water, his head in a little oxygen bubble to give him the air he needed to breathe. He could feel the Aqua Ring accelerating his healing, torn organs and skin slowly patching themselves together.

Okay, Zenith. Cleo took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was going to do next. She had deciphered Zenith's instructions by now but still had her doubts if it would or not.

_Here goes nothing. Time for a full-body rinse._

The Umbreon in question was trying to force himself to calm down, to not panic. He knew what was coming, but in the end, had no time to react to it. All he felt was a rush of water entering his nose and mouth, but before his instincts for self-preservation kicked in, the water was gone, gushing out of his body back into the water that surrounded him.

In that time frame of barely two seconds, water was forcing its way down Zenith's windpipe and oesophagus, running through his digestive system, sloshing around in his lungs. Water also entered Zenith's body through cut blood vessels in wounds, speeding throughout his entire bloodstream. The dense pink gas lingering in Zenith's lungs diffused into the water, along with the pheromones circulating in the blood, ridding Zenith of the poisonous gas completely. With its job done, the water left as quickly as it entered.

In his subconscious, smoky Zenith could feel the pink mists disappear from abound his limbs. The hole he was looking out of vanished, along with the view of his mindscape slowly fading from his mind's eye.

Feeling his strength return in small, gradual bursts, Zenith tried to look out of the water column to make out the battle that was raging around him.

Sylvie dodged water tendrils and paws, spitting out Dazzling gleams and Swifts, but all the projectiles just seemed to sink into the body of the giant Vaporeon, floating around in the water that it was made out of before vanishing a while later. It didn't matter anyways. Taking down Cleo wasn't her primary objective. Setting her eye on her target, Sylvie breathed a stream of bright blue flame at the sand in front of her, the Mystical Fire quickly turning the sand into glass to create a smooth, transparent path leading straight to the water column.

Cleo could see what Sylvie was trying to do, and she would have none of it. She raised a giant paw, ready to smash the glass Slip and Slide down the middle, but as she tried to bring the paw down, she realised that it wouldn't budge at all. The liquid surface of the entire limb was encased in a thick sheet of ice, preventing any form of movement from her shoulder down. The rest of Cleo's 'body' was sharing the same fate, courtesy of an Ice Beam from the Milotic. Watching Sylvie get closer and closer to Zenith, Cleo tried to shapeshift the remaining liquid around her into another form to escape from the ice that was now invading and encapsulating her entire 'body', but she found out that the water would not obey her. It was almost as though there was some sort of psychic barrier conjured up by the Gardevoir to surround her mind, blocking her mental commands. With the ice growing thicker by the second, Cleo was trapped in her own creation, watching helplessly as events continued to unfold before her.

"I'm sorry that it had to come to this, Zenith," As Sylvie picked up speed on her glass slide, her body started to become outlined with a faint golden aura, glowing brighter as orbs of energy were being absorbed into her body.

"But if I can't have you, no one can." The golden aura morphed into a massive star in front of the Sylveon, which she sent flying at the water column.

In the column, Zenith looked out at the blurred muffled, water-refracted scenes playing out in front of him. The last of his puncture wounds were starting to close up, and he was thinking of a plan as fast as his pheromone-hungover mind would allow him. Sylvie had to be stopped, there was no doubt about that, but the Sylveon would never stop hounding him until one of them was dead. He knew too much, and there was no way Sylvie could let him survive in his recovered state. The only way out of this predicament seemed to be to just kill Sylvie, but Zenith didn't like the idea of murder. As wicked as Sylvie was, he could never live with the Sylveon's blood on his hands. But if he didn't kill Sylvie, she would continue to make his life hell until she achieved her goal.

_Oh, Dialga. Please advise me in making the right choice._

**You won't need my help.**

_Wait, why-_

The star smashed into the water column, glowing bright yellow before detonating. The immense power of the Last Resort shattered the pillar, showering water everywhere, as well as flinging Zenith high into the air. Sylvie squinted, shielding her eyes from the blinding light of the explosion. She ran towards the sea, accompanied by her friends as they tracked Zenith's descent, the Umbreon plummeting towards the ocean surface. There was a smile on Sylvie's face as she watched Zenith fall, waiting for the painful, life-ending smack of a body hitting the ocean at high speeds. However, the smile turned into a snarl of annoyance as she spotted the Umbreon charging up a Dark Pulse between his paws, planning to detonate it to negate most of his fatal fall damage.

"Get me to him."

With both the Gardevoir and Milotic focused on helping Sylvie, Cleo felt the mental lock on her mind disappear. With her regained control over the water, Cleo gathered whatever remaining unfrozen water that surrounded her, enough to form two water tendrils. It wasn't as much as she expected, but she took what she could get, hammering at the ice around her with all her might. The ice was thick, so it took Cleo quite some time for her to break herself out of her giant frozen Vaporeon 'suit', smashing the ice sculpture into smithereens in the process.

Emerging from the melting wreckage, Cleo watched in horror as Sylvie leapt into the air, with an aided boost from a Psychic.

Zenith held the Dark Pulse above the gaping wound in his chest, exposed flesh flapping in the wind. It really was a shame for his just recovered body to be injured so quickly, but he forced away his guilt at ruining Cleo's attempt at healing him, as well as the stinging pain of the hole in him. As he focused, waiting for the right time to use the dark orb in his paws, a pink and white blur collided with him from above. The Dark Pulse dissipated, Zenith's concentration broken by the newfound pain of pink paws landing on his bare ribs, and the resounding cracks that followed. Sylvie wrapped her feelers around the Umbreon's limbs to anchor herself to his body, increasing the speed of their descent towards the ocean. Throughout the fall, Zenith was completely restrained by the tendrils, unable to protect himself or fight back against Sylvie's flurry of attacks, the Sylveon pummelling, scratching and biting any part of him that she could reach. Her moves, firing at point-blank range, were cutting through skin and piercing what remaining flesh he had left, every slash accompanied by an enraged shout from a ranting Sylvie.

"WHY!" Slash. Muscles severed, a paw now limp in the crushing grip of the tendrils.

"WON'T!" Swipe. Capillaries and arteries sliced in two, sending up violent sprays of crimson blood that matted white fur.

"YOU!" Slash. Scratch marks indented into the bones of his rib cage, more and more of them appearing as claws raked on the hard tissue, trying to get to his heart.

"DIE!"Another sharp swipe, and the vision in his left eye turned black.

Cleo watched droplets of blood flying upwards in gushes as the duo fell in the opposite direction, before hitting the ocean surface with a giant smack, slowly sinking beneath the choppy waves. Seeing the decreasing amount of bubbles floating to the surface, the Vaporeon snapped out of her momentary shock. She shoved her way past Sylvie's friends and dove into the water, swimming at top speed towards the point where Zenith and Cleo had crash-landed.

It was a bloodbath-literally. The water was murky, stained red with blood as Sylvie released her grip on Zenith, but still continuing her relentless attacks even as the Fairy and Dark-type drifted deeper into the depths. Cleo shooed away the schools of Washiwashi and Sharpedo that had gathered around the brutal fight, but was forced to retreat to avoid a Dazzling Gleam in her direction, the sharp bright shards missing her by a hair's breadth, spearing the bodies and even the thick hides of the unlucky fish Pokemon swimming around, their now lifeless bodies drifting through the water.

Zenith couldn't feel anything anymore, and not because of his damaged pain receptors. He was used to break the impact of him and Sylvie hitting the water, and he was pretty sure all of the oxygen had been knocked out of him. Blood was flowing out of every part of his body, and water was flowing in to fill up the remainder of his lungs in his desperate attempts to breathe. Sylvie, deciding that she had accomplished enough, pushed off Zenith's body to ascend, floating upwards to the ocean surface.

However, through what seemed like some sort of divine intervention, a bolt of lightning arced through the sky, hitting the ocean surface and spreading out over the water. As though it was meant for her, Sylvie was the only living thing near the strike point, just about to surface from the ocean for a gasp of air. A billion volts of electrical energy shot through the Sylveon's body as she came into contact with the electricity conducted by the water. The current flowed through Sylvie's paw, passing directly through her heart and out of her body, instantly killing her in the process. She floated on the surface for a while, before rapidly taking on water, sinking quickly and piling on top of Zenith's body, pushing him further down into the ocean.

By some miracle or curse, Zenith was still alive, but he knew that he wouldn't stay this way for long. He was too winded, too weak and too wounded to push Sylvie's corpse off him, much less swim to save himself. Most of his muscles were torn apart, rendering most of his body limp, unresponsive and useless. Coupled with multiple organ failures, his fate was basically unchangeable. As Zenith continued to drift down deeper into the depths of the ocean, watching the sunlight from above the waves slowly diminish, the Umbreon noticed a familiar shade of yellow standing out against the literal sea of blue, and an instantly recognisable set of frills that belonged to the Pokemon that he loved.

Zenith was blacking out, his brain starting to fail from a lack of oxygen. However, the sight of the distant Vaporeon allowed him to find enough energy, drawing it out from unknown sources to perform one final action.

The shoals of fish and other marine Pokemon had scattered after the Dazzling Gleams, leaving Cleo by herself, searching the vast expanse of ocean before her for Zenith. It was empty as far as the eye could see, blue stretching in every direction she looked, with the exception of the pitch dark depths. Cleo just felt like screaming in frustration and worry as her searches yielded no positive results. There were no tracks, no traces for Cleo to follow. How on earth was she supposed to find-

_Cleo._

Said Vaporeon 'jumped' in surprise upon hearing Zenith's voice, and in her head no less. Turning in the water to try and locate where the voice was coming from, Cleo was startled for a second time as she rotated counter-clockwise to come snout to snout with a pale, translucent, blue figure of an Umbreon.

"Zenith? Is that really you? You had me worried sick! I thought that you may have… wait. You're blue… which means you're using Psychic! Which means you're still alive! Lead me to your body, and I can still save-"

Cleo's words were cut off as Zenith wrapped his paws around her, embracing the Vaporeon in a hug. He squeezed her as tightly as he could, burying his face into her frills. It seemed like so long since he had actually hugged Cleo, even though they had only been apart for a week, and would give anything to let his hug last forever. Cleo, on the other hand, was confused by Zenith's actions. In situations like this, when the both of them were concerned about his life being on the line, he would immediately be trying his hardest to help Cleo to save himself. The only reason why he would have time to hug, to act so calm and composed… was that he had no time left. A knot of dread twisted in her stomach as realisation set in, pushing away the hope that once filled Cleo. She pushed Zenith's paws away from her, grabbing him by the cheeks to look the Umbreon in the eyes, similar to what he did to her a few minutes ago.

_Cleo, I-_

"No. No no no! You can't die here! Not now! We've hardly been together for half a year! There's so much we hav- we can do! There's must be SOMETHING-"

 _I'm sorry, Cleo. I've thought of everything. Even if you can swim fast enough to reach my body, there won't be much left to save. Sylvie's damaged me too badly. I wish we could've spent more time together._ Cleo was choking up, her tears unseen as they mixed with the saltier ocean water.

"W-w-what am I going to d-d-do without you? I knew we were moving a little too fast, but… I'm seriously in love with you, Zenith. Please don't go."

Zenith shared the same feelings as the Vaporeon, but the only reply he could muster at this point was a warm, quivering smile, blinking furiously to prevent himself from bawling like Cleo. He rummaged around in his utility belt, pulling out a disc from one of its pockets to pass to Cleo. It was the size of a small plate, and solidified in Cleo's paw as she reached out to take it.

 _I love you too, Cleo. I wish that there was another way, I really do._ Zenith's Psychic projection flickered momentarily, the blue Umbreon flickering in and out of view like a TV show with poor reception. _It looks like I don't have much time left. So, Cleo…_ Zenith through back to just a few days ago, before all this Sylvie stuff happened, on that one day he was back in school, with only one thought on his mind at the time.

_...what do you want to do?_

There was the selfless Zenith Cleo knew and loved very, very much. Holding back tears, she brought herself closer to Zenith, their lips meeting in a slow, passionate kiss, paws wrapping around each other to hold their partner for one final time. There they were, floating in the ocean, lips locking in a loving embrace, their anxieties melting away momentarily as they savoured the last few moments that they had together.

_Thank you, Cleo._

Cleo broke off from the kiss to look back at Zenith, paws tightening their grip around him as she felt parts of him starting to slowly fade away from under her touch.

"For what?"

_For... everything. You are a good girlfriend, and I was so lucky to meet you. And in the future, if you want, you can always make someone else feel as lucky as I do now. I wouldn't mind._

Cleo couldn't help but give a good laugh despite the grim and depressing situation. Leave it to Zenith, who was almost already gone, to worry about her possible future relationships. Burying her face into the Umbreon's shoulder fur, she increased the grip of their hug, holding as much of Zenith as possible as the Umbreon's body started to fade under her touch, from the pads of his feet upwards, until the feeling of his head, which was nestled on top of hers, vanished.

In the inky depths of the ocean, the blue pairs of light blinked out of existence, plunging the ocean back into darkness.

Mrs Sal flew in circles above the sea, scanning its choppy waves for any signs of the three students that Apollo and Gayle hold told her disappeared underneath the waves. Noticing a frilled head break the surface of the water, Mrs Sal swooped down to meet the Pokemon. Nearing the Pokemon who was putting up little to no resistance against the strong currents, her limp body being tossed around easily by the waves. As she got closer, tears could clearly be seen streaming down the Vaporeon's face. Coupled with a grief-stricken expression, and how everything about the Vaporeon just seemed to exude an air of defeat, Mrs Sal no longer hoped for the best. The worst seemed to have already happened. Mrs Sal offered the Vaporeon a lift back to the shore, but the only response she got was a shake of the head and a trail of bubbles that the Vaporeon left in her wake as she sped towards the shore.

Cleo swam as fast as she could, prying her reluctant gaze away from the spot where Zenith had been slammed into the ocean. Her mind was fuzzy, and as she blinked against the tears blurring her vision, with the wind whipping her face, the only coherent thought Cleo had was to get as far away from here as possible. But as Cleo's legs and tail churned harder and faster, her heart felt like a rubber band, one side connected to the very same spot she had been looking at, stretching itself to its limits. With the aching pain in her chest, Cleo tightened her grip on the disc that Zenith had gifted her as she neared the shore, where many students had gathered, their curious gazes all fixated on the Vaporeon. Gayle and Apollo rushed forward to help Cleo as she washed up on shore, collapsing onto the sand in exhaustion. Mrs Sal landed on the beach soon later, picking Cleo up gently in her claws and placing the Vaporeon on her back, the crowd stepping back to clear a path for the Salamence to make her way into the centre of the resort. Cleo lay on Mrs Sal's back, feeling the rhythmic movements of the Salamence walking slowly lull her to sleep, the heat radiating from the body heat of the Dragon/ Flying-type a pleasant and relaxing sensation against her cold body.

A single tear made its way down Cleo's cheek as her eyelids closed shut, succumbing to sleep.

She would come to terms with the mixture of emotions within her when she awoke, but there was one thing that she could proclaim with absolute confidence and certainty:

All the time she had spent with Zenith, all the experiences that they shared, all the fun, the goods and bads they went through together had truly made her life...

Not So Ordinary.


	36. Chapter 36

**NSO Chapter 36**

I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Zenith was still surprised that he could still open his eyes, and even more so about where he was. He was no longer a dead body, sinking through the freezing, murky depths of the ocean; rather, he was doing so in an endless expanse of darkness. The light of his rings failed to illuminate the plate, or maybe there was nothing to light up at all. Looking down, he noticed that the state of his body had not changed along with his location. It was still in bad shape after Sylvie's brutal beatings, but by some miracle, he was still alive and functioning. There was almost nothing left of his torso, an enormous cavity in his chest, where most of his fur, skin and flesh torn to shreds under sharp claws, revealing ruptured organs and scratched bone. Vessels and capillaries were sliced, their contents leaking out into the void, red balls of liquid floating around Zenith, unbound by the laws of gravity and nature, like he was. Multiple puncture wounds were visible in his heart and lungs, but they continued to function as per normal, expanding and contracting. However, this unnaturalness was literally outshined by a glowing white orb appearing before Zenith, expanding in all directions to fill up the void. As gravity took hold once more, it was accompanied by the flailing of paws as a surprised Umbreon hit the cold, white marble floor, along with a shower blood droplets splattering around him, staining the pristine patterned tiles. From his limited view on the floor, Zenith saw four pointed feet in front of him, each foot tipped with a golden hoof.

"Hello there, Zenith. We've been expecting you."


	37. Chapter 37

**NSO Chapter 37**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

The blaring wails of a siren, and the squeal of spinning tyres screeching against hard tarmac, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning rubber. Forcibly awoken from her fretful sleep, she blinked multiple times, squinting as intense flashes of red and blue hurt her still-adjusting eyes. Even though she tried to curl up tighter, trying to shut herself off from her surroundings, the intrusive sights and sounds seemed to force themselves into her perceptive mind and she couldn't help but notice everything. It was as if reality was playing a cruel joke on her, mocking her pitiful attempts to block it out.

The cries of protest, sighs of disappointment and reluctant acceptance, the buzz of discreet discussions brimming with rumors and speculations. She heard them all as students were herded onto buses, the vehicles facing the front gates of Palosand Beach Resort. As she boarded, a Vibrava had turned back to look at her, giving a small forlorn wave goodbye before Mrs Sal's large blue claws pushed her along, ushering her onto the bus.

Gayle. She must be feeling as bad as she was right now. After all, he was her brother.

The feel of unidentifiable material against the palm of her paw. The disk he had given to her was still warm, a stark contrast to her skin, which had been chilled by the freezing temperatures of the ocean depths. She hugged the small disc close to her chest and relished in the heat as it spread throughout her shivering body.

The rumble of the engine as the ignition of the buses were started. They left the resort in a single line, the low vibrations of the sound fading slowly into the distance. Pokemon in blue uniforms rushed past her in the direction of the beach, wielding yellow and black striped tape, speaking into walkie-talkies clipped onto their uniforms, which sparked with static-filled replies. None of it mattered to her, nor did she feel affected by the deafening world around her.

Only when a thick layer of towels was draped over her shoulders did she begin to move, uncurling to accept the thick fabric gratefully. Grabbing the edges, she pulled the towels closer to the body, feeling the cloth absorb the cold, excess seawater off her skin while trapping additional heat to warm her body back up. For the first in what seemed like a very long time, she felt the stiffness in her tense muscles lessen slightly.

The next thing she knew, she was scooped up by a pair of strong paws lifting her into the air, carrying her to a white van. The red and blue lights attached to the vehicle were flashing at a slower rate than the police cars that it was parked close to. She couldn't see the Pokemon who held her in her arms, but it had to be a Fire-type. Heat radiated from its body, and she felt herself subconsciously press closer against its chest. All that built-up stress and muscle tension draining out of her, like someone had finally released an overwound clockwork toy.

She had finally reached the ambulance, the vehicle's double doors had been thrown wide open in preparation for her arrival. The unnaturally white fluorescent lights stung her eyes, and the shift from the comforting warmth and hold of the Pokemon's arms onto the cold surface of a turquoise air mattress was an unpleasant one. However, she was too tired to care anymore. The heat, the rhythmic footsteps from before had lulled her into a relaxed state, ready for a trip back into dreamland. Body limp with exhaustion, her heavy eyelids slammed shut once her body hit the mattress, the darkness of slumber washing over her vision.

Cleo sat up with a jolt, rubbing her closed eyes in annoyance at the rude awakening. She always hated those dreams that made her feel like she was falling. Well, at least it was just a dream. She could feel the smooth air mattress beneath her back, and the stretcher it was attached to was still grounded on solid… floor…?

She was still on the stretcher, but was now struggling to stay on it, giving the metal structure a tight bear hug as it rattled furiously, plummeting down into a dark abyss. Her surroundings were pitch black, no matter which direction she looked. She couldn't even see how far she was from splattering on the ground, if this 'place' even had one. All she knew was that she was falling, falling fast with no sign of stopping. Even though a natural response would be to panic and scream, no feeling of fear or anxiety was overwhelming her mind, and the instinct to scream was nonexistent. Instead, Cleo felt a weird sort of calm, like falling to uncertain death was a daily routine that she had gotten used to. She knew that she had full control over herself, but felt like a spectator of her own dream. It was like she was playing a video game, having the innate sense to be able to notice anything happening around her. Cleo didn't mind any of this, in fact, it was a pleasant change considering what she had experienced before. It allowed her to save her breath shrieking when the stretcher and mattress broke apart under her, the smaller, lighter pieces whipping past her to disappear into the darkness above. She was left free-falling alone, with nothing left to do besides observe her surroundings, which were beginning to change.

Blue rings, not unlike the ones that Zenith had on his forehead and limbs were starting to appear amongst the darkness as Cleo fell. As more and more rings showed up, casting their light-blue glow to illuminate portions of the 'abyss', everything slowly became a bit clearer to Cleo. How the rings curved, surrounding her from all sides except the top and bottom. She wasn't just falling into random darkness or an expanse of void. This 'abyss' was a cylindrical shaft.

_But where does this lead? For a dream, I thought I would be able to control this somehow._

The rings were appearing rapidly, spreading across the black walls of the shaft like wildfire, bathing the inside of the hollow cylinder in bright blue light, enabling Cleo to see above and below her. While the top was still pitch black, the sight at the bottom baffled her. There was a blue water lily, but instead of growing in water like its species usually did, it was planted in a large flower pot filled with black soil. But instead of wilting outside of its natural habitat, it seemed to be flourishing in the pot, the lily's stem standing up straight to show off its beautiful flower. Cleo was still quite a long distance from reaching the 'end' of this tube, even at her rate of descent. The flower looked minuscule from her position, and the Vaporeon questioned how she was able to see every tiny detail on the odd sight in whatever mind's eye she had, but chalked it up to dream logic. She could see the waxy cuticle on the plant's leaves and thorny undersides, see the soil clearly enough to recognise it as pure clay, even down to the tiny hairs on the weak stem of the lily. Cleo was thinking of counting those just to pass the time till she landed or woke up, but a more pressing problem presented itself.

A white tendril, tipped with pink and blue extended itself from the middle of a blue ring, snaking towards Cleo, trying to grab the Vaporeon during her descent. Cleo gripped her head as painful memories returned at the sight of those colours, running through her mind screaming about red flags. She knew that she would have to try the best she could to avoid getting caught. Twisting her body, Cleo managed to maneuver herself around it, feeling the tendril snatch at the air just inches away from her.

However, Cleo had no time to heave any sighs of relief. More white tendrils started to extend themselves from the black walls, all emerging from the centre of blue rings lining the entirety of the shaft. Be it above or below, the tendrils were all around her, every single one of them reaching towards one plummeting Pokemon.

Twisting, turning, punching, kicking and even biting, Cleo dodged and attacked the tendrils as she fell, determined to make sure that none would even touch her. But the further the Vaporeon fell, the harder it became to escape the grasps. Like the rings, the tendrils continued to appear in endless streams, moving at blistering speeds as they streaked towards their target. Cleo's reflexes were pushed to their limits, and she realised that by now, it wasn't _if_ they would get her, but _when_ they would get her.

As much as she tried to prevent it, the inevitable finally happened. A speedy tendril managed to catch Cleo by surprise, wrapping around her paw in a vice-like grip. A sharp gasp of pain was elicited from the Vaporeon as her fall was stopped dead in its tracks immediately, the excess momentum from the sudden stop jolted the front paw her whole body was hanging from. A loud pop, and Cleo's cry rose in pitch as her shoulder was forcefully wrenched out of its socket.

Now groggy, stunned from the sudden stop and in pain, Cleo was too dazed to fight off the rest off the flurry of tendrils, wrapping themselves around her limbs and body so tightly that she felt like she was wearing a latex suit made out of writhing flesh, constricting every part of the Vaporeon except for her face.

The tendrils just kept on coming, a seemingly endless stream of paper-thin yet strong feelers wrapping around one another when there was no more bare skin left to cling to. Cleo's eyes darted around, trying to find any way to escape, but the top remained as pitch black as ever, and the view below was even worse. From the corner of her eye, she could barely see the flower anymore. It was quickly being obscured, hidden under a layer of frothing white as more tendrils spawned from the rings, thrashing furiously to grab onto her.

 _Arceus, I hope this isn't one of my lewder dreams…_ Cleo chuckled to herself. She was starting to slip back into consciousness, out of her dreamscape. Her mind was still free of any form of fear, and hazy with pain, spouting unfiltered nonsense until another sharp sting of pain from her shoulder pulled her back, away from the waking world.

 _Why… are… they… doing… this…?_ For a dream, the severe pain in her shoulder certainly felt real, and the constant pressure of the tendrils pressing down on her only made it feel worse. In the absence of panic and anxiety, pain and anger were there to replace them. This was _her_ dream. If her mind had decided to place her in this sort of scenario, she at least wanted an answer from herself. Struggling against her bonds was a futile attempt, not to mention a painful one, with a dislocation shoulder and the fact that there were too many tendrils holding her fast, their numbers and grips continuing to increase under every passing second.

"Why are they doing what?" A muffled, unrecognisable voice started to speak out of nowhere. Even though it was soft, barely a whisper, it reverberated throughout the entire shaft, making the voice sound like it was coming from everywhere at once. "Why are they holding onto you, why they covered every inch of you except for your face, why, why… why."

"Both. And let go of me while you explain, will you?" Cleo spat. Something about this voice invoked hatred and a sense of suspicion in the Vaporeon, the same one as when she first encountered the tendrils. "I have plenty more questions for you to answer too," Devoid of any fearful emotions, all the pain she had just fuelled the raging furnace of anger in Cleo towards the mystery speaker. She didn't know why, but its tone irked her immensely.

"Settle down, my sweet, dear, Cleo," The voice was still muffled, but started to grow louder in volume. "Being angry won't help you at all. The more you struggle, the tighter they grip. So why not just stay still and hear your answer."

"Firstly, they grabbed you so you can't reach the end. Obviously. Secondly…" The voice became sharply defined and distinct, and a chill ran down Cleo's spine as she identified the feminine, sickly sweet tone.

"They didn't mask your face, specifically your mouth, so _I_ can hear you do this."

Recognition. Contempt. Confusion. These flashed through Cleo's mind in the span of a few nanoseconds, too slow for her body to react to those feelings, but fast enough for Cleo to realise.

_This was definitely a nightmare, and it was going to be a long time before she would wake._

_If she would wake._

An agonised scream filled the shaft as the tendrils wrapped around her limbs started to tighten their grips simultaneously. Resounding snaps echoes throughout the darkness as Cleo's bones gave in to the crushing pressure, shattering into pieces. The tendrils released their grip on her afterwards, retreating back into the middle of the blue rings, leaving the Vaporeon's limp limbs dangling lifelessly by her sides. Cleo knew that she shouldn't scream, that would only please Sylvie even more, but the pain from multiple bones breaking at once was too much for her to bear. As the tsunami of pain crashed down upon her, overwhelming her senses, another scream could be heard.

Gasping for breath, Cleo tried to draw in another mouthful of air, but fell short as her lungs ran out of space to expand. The tightening of her chest grew more apparent as Cleo felt the remaining tendrils wrapped around her torso began to tighten like all the others before them, constricting Cleo's chest until the point where taking a breath for the Vaporeon was extremely difficult, a painful process accompanying a simple task. Her survival instinct screamed at her to pry the tendrils away, but her broken paws flapped uselessly at her sides, as much use as two pieces of limp spaghetti.

"Look at yourself, Cleo," The disembodied voice was much closer to Cleo now, its mocking tone made the Vaporeon feel like the very wall itself was taunting her.

"Look at what I've done to you. I've broken every bone in your arms and legs, and soon I'm going to crush this pathetic body of yours. Just give up, Cleo. I've overpowered you in every way imaginable, both in dream and reality. Even if you do survive this, you'll be in no shape to reach the end, to get your so-called 'happy ending'. The tendrils clenched harder around Cleo, causing another sharp outtake of air from a pained Cleo. It was a struggle to breathe, and Cleo could feel her oxygen supply quickly running out. Normally being able to breathe underwater, the Vaporeon never really saw any importance or need to hold her breath- until now.

"I took Zenith from you," The sweet voice took on a bitter undertone. The tendrils continued to tighten around her. "And I'll continue to do so until the day he stands by my side, even if it means crushing anyone opposes me. Speaking of crushing…" Cleo could feel her chest on the verge of caving in. Her ribs were starting to crack under the immense pressure pressing onto her from all sides. Squeezing her eyes shut, Cleo prepared to hear the final cracks that would sound out her inescapable doom.

_If I die here, do I die in real life? Maybe I'll get to see Zenith agai-_

"Cleo?" Another deeper voice cut through Sylvie's endless laughter, so loud and booming that the entire shaft seemed to shake. The tendrils slackened their grip immediately, slithering back into darkness above. Cleo could feel herself being lifted upwards, her hold on the dream world weakening. As the light started to fill the entire cylinder, enveloping everything in its blinding white glow. As Cleo took one last look beneath her, at the lily, the Vaporeon could hear a faint whisper in her ear.

"You got lucky this time." The annoyance and hatred was unmistakable. "I should have finished you off sooner. But mark my words, the next time we meet, it'll definitely be your last."

"Cleo-aH!" The doctor shining a light into her eye leapt back in surprise as his once-unconscious patient he was checking on suddenly sat up, taking giant gulps of air.

"Oh, Cleo. You're awake." Readjusting his spectacles, the Mr Mime peered over them to examine the Vaporeon while relooking through his scribbled notes. "You've been out for quite some time. Try to relax. How are you feeling?"

A few more deep breaths and Cleo was feeling calmer and more composed. Her heart and breath rate had dropped back down to their usual levels, the lingering fear from the nightmare starting to fade away.

"I feel… better, I guess. I'm calmer. But why check up on me now?"

"I did give you a once-over when you were first checked into this hospital. Don't worry, you didn't sustain any major injuries. It's just that you were screaming in your sleep, and suddenly went still, and both your heart and breath rates started to decrease irregularly. Your mom was worried, so she wanted me to come in and check in on you again."

"I was… dying? My mom? She's here?"

"Yes to both. She said that she was going to wait here until you woke up. Would you like me to call her in?"

"Please."

As the Mr Mime left the room, Cleo surveyed her current state and surroundings. She lay on a hospital bed, donning the usual patient's attire, a green shirt, the garment so large it could double as a dress for the Vaporeon. Sensors were stuck to her skin and clipped onto her paws, the wires extruding from them leading into a tableside machine beside her, which monitored her vitals with constant beeps.

Reading from the screen of the vitals monitor, she seemed to be functioning normally like any other Pokemon, but she sure didn't feel okay. Her entire body still felt constricted, as if she were still feeling the aftermath of the nightmare. There was even a dull throbbing in the shoulder that she had 'dislocated'. Every muscle in her body was aching and tense, so she decided to do a few stretches first, wincing slightly at the pain.

"Mom!" Cleo was brought into a tight embrace with the large Fire-type, nuzzling happily into her mother's yellow chest floof. Everything about her seemed to put Cleo's heart and mind at ease: The familiar smell of family, the heat radiating from the Flareon's body an Arceus-send from the air-conditioned temperatures of the cold hospital, and the presence of a trusted Pokemon, a figure that Cleo had always looked up to, someone that had been missing since the incident. One that would always be by her side in her time of need…

"Mom! Y-y-you're here! But I thought- your business trip- how?"

"I took the earliest flight back when Mrs Sal called to inform me that you were admitted here."

"But… your job!"

"Family's more important than my job, my dear droplet."

… no matter the circumstances.

"Enough about me. What about you? How do you feel?"

Cleo reluctantly broke away from the hug to allow her mom to push her back onto the hospital bed.

"Fine, I guess. Just as the doctor said, no major or severe injuries. I wonder how long I'll need to stay here for, though…" The Vaporeon's mind wandered back to her blue bedroom, her bed with thick, comfy blankets. The thin hospital blankets barely provided any insulation against the almost-freezing temperatures in the building. She wished she could go home soon. She did pick up on the doctor mentioning a few tests to her mom, but certainly, those wouldn't take that long, would they?

-Time Skip-

"You're good to go!" The Mr Mime, whose name Cleo had learned to be Doctor Seeniz, announced with a smile, ushering Cleo out of the medical room.

"Really? Isn't there _another_ test I have to take?" Cleo's deadpan voice was laced with sarcasm but was silenced by a warning glare from her mother.

"Don't mind my daughter, doctor. Sure, those tests may have been a bit… excessive, but at least we're done for the day, right?"

"A bit?" Cleo hissed at her mother through gritted teeth and a forced smile. "The only thing weirder than his name are all the tests he put me through!"

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad."

"I lost count after test 43. He made me run on a treadmill to see 'the maximum speed I can run at'. And we weren't even halfway done!"

"Look, you can complain on the way back." Turning to Doctor Seeniz, Janice put on a big bright smile. "So, I'm guessing I can receive my daughter's test results soon?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but no. All of these tests are physical check-ups all Pokemon must go through, so that they are kept incredibly confidential to prevent any incidents from occurring. Looking at your own records, I noticed that you haven't completed your check-ups yet. Would you like to do so now?"

"No. Can I at least fill out any forms so my daughter can be discharged?"

"Yes. That. if you could follow me, please," The Mr Mime started to walk down the corridor, but stopped in place when two blue uniform-clad Pokemon approached the Flareon he was leading. They showed their badges to a confused Janice before speaking.

'We're part of the neighbourhood police force investigating the incident that occurred at Palosand Beach Resort. Are you Janice Fletcher, mother of Cleo Torrent?"

"Yeah. She's right there," Mother pointed to daughter, who waved awkwardly at the two policemon, both returning the gesture.

"We would like a moment to speak with her, since she was directly involved in the incident. We would like to hear her recount of the events."

"... okay then. Cleo, stay there. I'll be back soon. And for the both of you, if you aren't who you say you are, and something bad happens to my daughter, you will know the true power of a mom's wrath."

The policemon chuckled nervously, sweatdropping. "A-are you threatening an officer of the law, Ms Fletcher?"

"Nah. Only the weak make threats. I make promises. By the way, I prefer to be addressed as Ms Torrent. Okay then, Doctor Seeniz, lead the way please." Cleo stared on in amazement and admiration as her mom's serious voice with an angry undertone instantly switched into a cheery, bubbly tone, the Flareon following the Mr Mime around a corner and out of sight.

The questioning was simple. The two policemon were a Braviary and a Growlithe. The Braviary asked the questions, while the Growlithe jotted down Cleo's responses in a small notebook. The questions were about the fight, the events leading up to it, who was involved, et cetera. Cleo answered all those questions honestly. She wanted to do Zenith justice, and he wouldn't want her to leave out anything. Once or twice she shed a tear, too overwhelmed by the memories of the incident, and the two Pokemon sitting in front of her looked away as she wiped her eyes, giving her ample space and time until she was ready to continue.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Cleo." The Growlithe closed his notebook, tucking it away in his breast pocket. You've been very helpful, and most of what you've said lines up with the other witnesses' statements."

"Can I just ask one question?"

The two Pokemon glanced at each other briefly, with the Braviary tilting his head slightly in a small nod.

"Sure."

"Did… did you manage to identify the bodies? Find them, at least?"

The Braviary shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Cleo. That beachside resort leads out into the ocean. We did do a sweep of the sea a few kilometres from the shore, but no bodies were found. It's more likely that the current carried them away, or the bodies may have been picked clea…" The Flying-type's voice trailed off as he saw the tiniest traces of tears appear in Cleo's eyes again, kicking himself internally for his accidental blunder,

"Uh… once again, thanks again for all the help you've been." Waving goodbye, the two policemon left, leaving Cleo sitting alone, waiting for her mother to return.

The drive back home was a strangely quiet one. Mother and daughter sat in the car, Janice behind the wheel and Cleo in the back, staring out of the window dejectedly. The atmosphere was tense as several minutes passed by without either Pokemon uttering a word, trying their best to avoid meeting the other's gaze. Even the car stereo was turned off, the only sound being the drumming of the rain on the roof of the car, and the rhythmic swishes of the windscreen wipers.

Cleo stared out of the car window, the pane of glass reflecting her melancholic expression. She focused on nothing in particular but noticing everything in the scenery speeding past her in a blur. The sound of raindrops as it beat down on the car and the road around her. Pidgey, Swellow and other kinds of Bird Pokemon took to the trees for shelter from the growing storm, taking refuge in holes of trunks, or huddling on branches, pressing their sunken feathers and bodies against each other for warmth, flinching as the wind-blown leaves blew past their faces. The furtive glances of her mom in the rear-view mirror, sneaking glances at her daughter, trying to sense her mood to know when it was alright to talk. As Cleo took in all the sights and sounds around her but registered none of them, her mind was in a whirl, thoughts tumbling around like clothes in a washing machine. Retelling her side of the story to those policemon had made the memory of the incident fresh in her mind once more, floating to the top of her mind no matter how hard she tried to push it down.

She could remember everything with crystal-clear clarity. The fights, the struggles, that sugary sweet, mocking tone and expression. Those memories were easy to squash down, but that warm smile on Zenith's face during their last moments together… she knew she could never just simply tuck that away in a corner, and she knew that it would definitely hurt if she tried. She could remember his eyes turning lifeless and dull as his Psychic- created body sank into the depths below, with Cleo unable to follow. It was as if she was reliving that moment, just staring down, a numbing sensation overwhelming her while she watched the blue apparition slowly disappear in one final embrace. It felt like a part of her had disappeared along with the Umbreon, leaving a void in herself that would not be closing up any time soon.

Cleo could feel one of her tears make its way down her cheek. Unbeknownst to her, the raindrops streaming down the window outside were starting to change their linear path of flow, moving in the shape of a broken heart.

"Cleo?" They were nearing home now, Cleo recognising the few landmarks that dotted the neighbourhood as the car drove past them. It wouldn't be long before she reached home, probably in about a few more minutes or so. The rain was still pouring down relentlessly, refusing to lighten up even after the flow of time.

"Yeah, mom?" if it had been any other Pokemon, Cleo wouldn't reply. She had been through a couple of very long days, and longed to be curled up on her bed, alone, isolated in her room to dwell on her thoughts and feelings, to recollect and reflect on them. She would find the time to talk to her mom about all this, but now didn't seem like the right time. But there was a hint of concern that could be picked up clearly in her mom's tone, and Cleo didn't feel right to just ignore someone who cared so deeply about her.

"So, what did those policemon want to talk to you about?"

"Uh…" Cleo blinked furiously, before responding in a calm, slightly shaky voice. "Just… just asking for my account on the… incident."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Janice still had no idea what the incident was, or what had happened that had landed Cleo in the hospital, or into her current state. There was still nothing about it on the news yet, and there was still no official letter from the school to explain the early end of the student's staycations. Cleo also noted the uncertainty of her mom's question, revealing how little she knew about the entire ordeal.

"..."

"Okay then. Well, we're here. Just wait until we park in the garage and we can-"

"Actually, can I get off here?"

"But it's still rainin-"

"Please."

"... We'll talk later."

The car doors opened with a click as the Vaporeon stepped out of the vehicle, about to slam them shut if not for her mom rolling down her window, beckoning Cleo to her with a solemn expression on her face.

"Listen, Cleo. I may not know much about the incident, and this might be hard for you to hear, but I don't want you to be seeing Zenith anymore, not until this entire issue is cleared up. I just feel that he's too dangerous for you to be around. You've never been involved in any fights until you met him, and I know I'm trying my best to accept him, but now he's got you into the hospital! I just, want- Cleo? Cleo!"

Cleo wasn't sure if those were tears running down her face, or raindrops from the storm that were being dumped all around and on her. She didn't even know what emotions her body was shaking with. Fury? Grief? Sadness? It didn't matter. With her mind in a jumbled mess, struggling to untie the knots of her twisted thoughts, nothing seemed to matter to her anymore. All she wanted now was to be alone, to sort out her feelings, to just… think.

"Cleo! Did you hear me?" Her mom's voice sounded distant, almost drowned out by the heavy downpour beating down on the ground.

"Yeah, mom. Don't worry." Cleo trudged towards the house. She swore she could see Zenith on the doorstep of the Torrent Residence, waiting patiently to be invited inside, the same start to his daily routine during the holidays. She stepped closer, and the wind whipped against her face, forcing her to duck her head, shielding her eyes against the stinging rain. Looking back up, her frills drooped even further as she was left standing alone on the lawn, facing an empty porch.

"I won't be seeing him ever again."


	38. Chapter 38

**NSO Chapter 38**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

"Hello there, Zenith. We've been expecting you."

Zenith's face was still smushed up against the cold marble floor from his fall out of the void. Blood was still flowing through his veins, even those that were sliced in half by sharp, clawed paws before, the crimson liquid continuously pooling out on the pristine white tiles. Half of his body was a mangled mess. Skin, flesh and chunks of organs had been ripped, clawed, shredded haphazardly from his body, leaving multiple paw-shaped holes in what remained. Upon closer examination, on the bones that were protruding out from the flesh, shallow scratch marks could be seen etched into the rigid organ. But despite all that, he was still functioning normally like any other Pokemon.

"If this is who I think it is, I would like some answers."

"All in due time, Zenith. Rise first, then we shall converse."

"Well, we technically are conversing, so-"

"Dude. Just get up, will you? And be respectful. Do you even know who you're talking to?" Now that was a voice he did recognise, a voice that he had heard and talked to in his head for many years.

Zenith got to his paws unsteadily, tottering around as he tried to maintain his balance on uneven limbs, one significantly shorter than the others due to an unlucky swipe. Eventually, he resorted to just trembling in one spot as his remaining three battered legs supported his weight, gazing up at the figures that stood before him.

"I have a pretty good idea."

Arceus, Dialga and Palkia. There was no point in trying to describe how they looked, they were identical to what all those ancient murals, stained glass windows and texts depicted: standing stoically since the dawn of time, remaining the same for millennia, impervious to change. However, what these works of art back on Earth failed to encapsulate was the aura that each of them radiated. It was godly, and brimmed with power, washing over Zenith in multiple waves. The raw power they emanated just by standing there made Zenith feel smaller, more minuscule and insignificant compared to these higher beings that already towered over him, the Umbreon barely coming up to their knees. At least his confidence still seemed intact, fuelled by burning curiosity.

"Welcome, Zenith," The domed roof of the pantheon seemed to amplify Arceus' mighty, grandiose voice as it boomed throughout the structure. "And welcome to the Hall of Legends. I trust that you have questions, but first, we have to get you back into fighting shape."

Zenith only had time to ponder Arceus' oddly specific voice of words before said Legendary closed and opened his eyes again, beams of white light spilling out of the sockets. Waves that radiated from the Alpha Pokemon grew exponentially stronger, pushing Zenith backwards to fall flat on the floor. His body was starting to convulse, but the Umbreon's eyes weren't filled with fear or confusion, but with wonder and shock instead. As Zenith watched in awe, bones sprouted from shattered, splintered ends. New muscles and tissue sprang forth, wrapping and attaching themselves around the bare bones. With his skeletal and muscular systems completely healed, Zenith's other systems started to undergo self-repairs as well. Blood vessels and capillaries joined themselves back together. Flesh was filling up the spots where it had been brutally ripped out. Now skin was covering up the gashes, tears and bruises, patching up the wounds without leaving a single scar.

Fur started to regrow in places where it had been torn out in clumps, the sleek black hairs covering up the pale, newly healed skin that was hidden underneath. Zenith's blue luminescent rings and bands, once dim, flickering and fading, now blazed with new life, shining brighter than ever before. His face was the last to get healed, patching himself up until every part of Zenith was back.

Every part of him except for one.

"Sorry to seem rude or ungrateful and all, but… where's my eye?"

His face was fully redeemed, covered in short black fur without a single scratch, but his eye socket remained empty, an unsightly cavity of his face devoid of a red eyeball.

"Ah, yes. Terribly sorry about your eye. You see, healing injuries this severe from nothing can be somewhat tricky for Legendaries like us. We replicate the missing muscles, organs and whatnot using my blueprints for all the various Pokemon in the world. Bone, muscles, flesh and skin are easy to replicate. They're tough and strong, made to withstand quite a few beatings, so the complicated and intense process of replication is nothing to them. Eyeballs, on the other hoof, along with a few vital organs, are softer and more delicate. Fragile, easily broken. Very little survive the replication process nowadays."

_Nowadays?_

"But… you're a god! Can't you at least try?"

Arceus extended a gold-tipped hoof, closing his eyes once again. A white orb appeared in the centre of the hoof, revolving slowly like a magnetic globe. Veins started to form on the smooth, shiny surface of the orb, and the iris, pupil and sclera were now visible. But just as the eyeball turned a dark shade of red to match Zenith's other eye, it started to revolve faster and faster, spinning in place so quickly that it was barely a blur.

BANG!

The eyeball exploded with the sound of a burst balloon, splattering the entire pantheon with small droplets of blood and liquids. Reopening his eyes, Arceus surveyed his even bloodier surroundings, looking back at Zenith. The Legendary's green and red eyes held a seemingly sympathetic gaze as if to say "Welp, I tried.", but Zenith noticed hints of longing in those eyes.

"Sorry, Zenith. No eye. You should have seen when I was in my prime, about a few thousand years ago. Back then, I could have been able to create an eyeball just like… that." Another spinning eyeball appeared in Arceus' hoof but suffered the same fate as the first.

"You got… weaker?"

"Zenith, you're pushing your luck here. Asking about power is a very sensitive topic for Legendaries. Arceus, you're really not going to answer tha-" Palkia's sentence was interjected by Arceus waving a hoof at her, brushing off her worries. "It's fine, Palkia. I've told the others, he has the right to know too."

_Others?  
_

"As you know, there are many Pokemon that reside within the Hall of Legends, those that mortals like you call 'Legendaries' or Mythicals'. There are two ways to becoming these kinds of Pokemon. The first is to have been created and granted immense power by me, like these two," Dialga and Palkia nodded at Arceus' acknowledgement as he gestured towards them. "Or those who have deemed themselves worthy of those statuses. All these Pokemon, in addition to the benefit of living here, are entitled to a portion of my power, which is divided and shared equally amongst the others whenever a new Legendary or Mythical Pokemon enters the Hall. However, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina and I still possess significantly more power than them in order to keep them in check, mine, of course, being the greatest out of us four."

Zenith nodded in understanding, but was going nuts under the calm expression of his. Here he was, sitting before Arceus, the creator of everything, was giving him undocumented, previously unknown knowledge about Legendaries and Mythicals. Even though some of them did live amongst normal Pokemon down on Earth, their very private lifestyles meant that little was still known about them. Now a whole load of information had been dumped upon him, the only thing preventing his brain from overloading being one unsolved question that he wanted answered.

"So why am I here? I died!"

Arceus had the hint of a smile of his face, as though he was waiting for Zenith to ask that very question.

"Zenith, the reason to why you've been brought into these Halls, is because you have been chosen to become a Champion."

"A… champion? What's that?"

"A Champion is a Pokemon that a Legendary or Mythical recognises for her or his talent and skill amongst all others, be it compared to other Pokemon in the Champion's town, state, country, or even the entire world. That Pokemon will then be monitored by that Legendary who selected him or her, evaluating the potential Champion's skills throughout its entire lifetime. Upon the Champion's eventual death in the mortal realm, if the Legendary still approves of his or her skills, the Pokemon will then be brought to the Hall of Legends under that Legendary to become a full-fledged Champion, to uphold justice in the world. Any other questions?"

 _Life after death is… real?_ Questions were racing through Zenith's mind, which had been completely blown by this new piece of information.

_Stay calm, Zenith. One question at a time._

"At the moment, I have four. Firstly, what about Champions who pass from old age?"

"When Champions arrive here, their bodies are instantly restored to the time when they were at their prime, along with their looks and age. Experience and memories are still retained."

"Secondly, how do these Champions 'uphold justice'? I don't think I've read anything that even mentions their existence."

Arceus chuckled to himself as he seemed to reminisce, the foggy mists of nostalgia clouding his eyes. "I implemented the Champions when I looked back down on my creations a few millennia ago, only to realise the injustice of it all. Pokemon with potential wasted their lives and skill, never fully realising it, and most who do misuse their potential to commit sins. With the number of evildoers skyrocketing with each passing year, history was clearly repeating itself. Calling in another purge like before would be of no use, so I decided to take a different approach this time. By bringing Pokemon back as Champions, it gives them a new life to do good, or continue doing good in the world. As for why Champions have never been documented, let's just say Champions work from the shadows to bring light to the world. As for why Champions have never been documented, let's just say they work from the shadows to bring light to the world. Ever read about 'miracles' happening in battles or wars, or how some perceived evildoers one-off themselves for no reason? You have Champions to think for that."

"Thirdly, how many Champions are there currently?"

"All Legendary and Mythical Pokemon can select one Champion each to train, but we only have eight as of now. It's not that we Legendaries are picky, but more so that Champion material is harder to come by these days."

"Lastly, do Champions get a chance to return to their normal mortal lives?"

Arceus' eyes widened slightly, as if surprised by the query.

"Absolutely not. Although come to think of it, you are the first Pokemon to ask that question. But why would you want to return? Being a Champion has much more benefits than mortal life. Immortality, better faculties in the Halls, preventing the word from falling to greater evils. What could the mortal realm possibly offer that would entice you to return there?"

Zenith decided not to answer that question, but pondered the answers he had received. To become a Champion, to get another shot at 'life' after his had been brutally ripped away from him, one fully dedicated to making the world a better place. But not importantly…

Another chance to see Cleo again. Sure, the chances were slim, but there was still a chance, and he would take it, no matter how small it was.

The question didn't even need to be asked. The steely resolve and absolute certainty in Zenith's eyes was a clear answer to the Alpha Pokemon. The Legendary extended a gold-tipped hoof which Zenith accepted, grabbing it as Arceus pulled the Umbreon to his feet with relative ease, shaking his paw after doing so. As the two of them shook hooves/paws, Zenith felt a strange sort of feeling descend upon him, trickling down like warm honey from the tips of his ears, clinging to his fur until his entire body seemed to be covered in 'it'.

"Congratulations, Zenith Schroff. I, Arceus, officially declare you a Champion."

On the Alpha Pokemon's last word, it became clear to Zenith what Arceus had bestowed upon him. A small flicker in the aura that the Legendary was constantly radiating. The sticky, grassy, warm feeling that encased his body vanished, only to be replaced by a stronger, more intense warmth within his body, almost sending Zenith collapsing on the ground under buckling legs, barely strong enough to support him as this familiar yet foreign feeling overwhelmed him completely.

So this was what pure power felt like. It coursed through his veins, pulsing in every muscle, nerve, organ and bone in his body. A feeling so red-hot and intense that it hurt both mentally and physically. Zenith bit down on his tongue to present himself from crying out in pain as his body took in the power Arceus was giving him. And to think that this was probably only a minuscule portion of the Alpha Pokemon's power… Zenith had his guesses, but now he couldn't possibly fathom how strong the Legendary even was. Slowly but surely, the pain slowly diminished from its strong searing sensation back down to tolerable levels.

_This pain… it's worse than that operation with Mew. I guess Arceus restored my damaged pain receptors along with my body._

The Legendary in question wore the same unreadable expression as the other two that stood behind him, all staring down at Zenith, although Dialga did look mildly impressed. Zenith was still panting heavily from the exception from the power-granting process, but Arceus barely gave him any time to rest, turning around immediately to walk out of the pantheon, accompanied by Dialga and Palkia, pausing at the arched doorway to look back at a confused Zenith.

"Well, come on Zenith. Let's give you a tour of this place."

Zenith had never stepped outside his neighbourhood, much less his town during his entire 16 years that he had lived. He had seen pictures, videos of other places, other regions, their wide grassy plains, barren gorges and wide canyons. Even though he never really stood in those places, but he could bet that none of them could compare to the magnificence or size of the Hall of Legends. It was certainly true to its name, with hallways everywhere, branching out in all directions as far as the eye could see. As he was guided through its long winding corridors, Zenith found that there weren't many facilities in those Halls, but what the Hall of Legends lacked in numbers, each room more than made up for it in sheer interior abundance.

The first was the Pantheon, made for introducing new Champion, or for fans of white. It was already a huge place, but it was supposedly the smallest facility in the Hall of Legends. It seemed impossible to Zenith at first, and he was more than glad to be proven wrong.

Second was the Infirmary, created specifically for the Champions but also used by the occasional legendary who bit off more than it could chew. High-tech, multipurpose hospital beds lined the large room, along with all different sorts of examination and recuperation equipment. In a corner, floating in the air lazily reading levitating newspapers and magazines were Celebi and Mew. Both of them waved at Zenith and the trio of Legendaries as they stepped into the room. While Arceus described all the tech and devices in the room to Zenith along with their purposes, Mew yelled out to Dialga, "Dialga! You owe me!" The pink cat's words were acknowledged by the Temporal Pokemon with a small dip of his head, grinning sheepishly at Zenith as he received a quizzical glance from the Umbreon.

The doors of the Infirmary silently slid shut as the four of them moved on to the next facility, Arceus hardly losing his stride as he navigated the hallways. Zenith, who was walking beside Alpha Pokemon, lagged behind to keep pace with Dialga.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh. I sent mew to Earth to… watch over you in school. You know… to make sure that you don't get messed up too badly and arrive here earlier than expected." The statement earned a skeptical glance from Palkia, but Zenith didn't notice it. Dialga gently shoved the Umbreon back to the front beside Arceus, signalling the end of the exchange, but Zenith had some nagging thoughts that things were being hidden from him.

The Eating Area, or 'Bar' by the sign that hung outside the entrance to the facility, seemed hugely redundant to Zenith, especially after how Arceus was explaining how neither Legendaries, Mythicals nor Champions needed to consume any food or beverages to obtain energy. The godly power that flowed through their veins provided more than enough of whatever their bodies needed to sustain and run themselves, as well as vaporise any waste materials produced.

"So why even need an Eating Area in the first place?"

The room did not have a ceiling, opening up into a bright sunny sky, but the sunlight from above did not seem to affect the room in any easy. A dim light still shone over the objects in it, giving it the ambience of an old-timey bar. Not a single store or vending machine could be seen, just rows and rows of tables, along with a few barstool-like revolving chairs. The chairs seemed fun to sit on, but Zenith couldn't figure out where the food to eat in the 'Eating Area' was going to come from.

"Legendaries, and sometimes Champions like to eat too, you know. Every tasted ambrosia? Don't Only us Legendaries and Mythicals can consume come. You Champions or mortals will burn up at its taste. So-"

"He's just kidding." Palkia shoved a snorting Dialga, who was doubled over with laughter. "But he's right to some extent. Arceus did give everyone a sense of taste, and to let it go to waste… he doesn't like it when his creations are left unused. Hence this place. To use it, just think of any food or drink you would like to eat and it'll appear."

"Any food?"

'Any sort of food you can imagine. But don't summon anything now. We still have a few more places to show you, and everything conjured in this room stays in this room. If you leave the Eating Area, any food not consumed will disappear."

"Neat."

The hallway was starting to slope downwards as they approached the next room. Even at first glance, Zenith could tell that this one was definitely different from the others. Instead of opaque white glass sliding doors, the entrance were thick metal-looking double doors, and behind that was another set of double doors, placed horizontally. The entrance procedure seemed very similar to an airlock, and Zenith found out why moments later. As soon as he stepped the doors, a wave of heat hit him, its hot sensation a stark contrast to the normally cooler room temperature as it washed over his body. The Umbreon also noted that he wasn't perspiring in the slightest despite the heat. The room was large, its walls curving upwards in a dome-like structure, with all the smoke being produced in the room leaving it through a large hole in the ceiling, which Zenith presumed was to resemble a chimney of some sort. All sorts of scents and smells mingled and mixed in the air, from the smell of gunpowder to molten metals to pungent gases. Various sounds reverberated throughout the room in an ear-piercing cacophony, but Zenith didn't seem to find himself bothered at all. Neither did the Legendaries, as they calmly led him to the next facility.

The Armory and Lab both shared the same location, but that didn't stop each facility from having their individuality and being impressive in their own rights, feeling completely unique from the other, The Armory was a smoke-filled workplace where both Champions or Legendaries could either commission or make their own creations. It contained an amazing array of all sorts of tools and machinery, ranging from forges and furnaces of the olden days to three-dimensional printing machines. Crafting benches were everywhere, as well as boxes of blank blueprints.

"Champions often come here to fix and improve their existing weapons and tools or to build new inventions should they get hit with inspiration."

Arceus continued to explain that building materials worked exactly like how food did in the Eating Area, allowing anyone easy access to the specific parts and quality of their choice. As he spoke, a Magearna was sorting out weapons of all shapes and sizes gave him a curtsy when they passed by her, which Zenith returned the gesture politely with a small bow. He made a mental note to come back here as soon as he could. Ideas were flooding through his mind, and he couldn't wait to act on those ideas or visualise them on the blue papers. However, respect was still crucial, especially with those around him, so he let himself get ushered through another two pairs of double doors into a linked room.

Unlike the Armory, which unintentionally showcased the way of making tools throughout the ages, the Lab seemed to have fully embraced the future. Everything in the room was white, sleek, and even seemed too high tech for Zenith to comprehend how to operate them. The tables were built and bolted to the floor in neat, orderly rows, with a sink and tap shared between every two long tables, the long resin tabletop filled with test tubes in their holders, bottles holding various chemicals in small shelves. The Lab had a smaller main room than the Armory, but had more doors leading to more rooms instead, with different types of science being carried out in each one. Closets and cabinets lined the walls, all filled with the flashing lights, beeping and booping of oddly shaped contraptions. Zenith recognised some of them, but the unknown devices enticed him to stay a bit longer to explore, so with the promise of "You'll have enough time to explore everything later,", he reluctantly left the room with Arceus, Dialga and Palkia in tow.

"Don't worry, Zenith. There's still a few more rooms you haven't seen yet. Now the next one is-"

"Arceus?" Dialga cut in briefly. "Everyone's assembled in the meeting room."

"Excellent," The Alpha Pokemon turned back to Zenith, who was still trying to figure out everything that was going on.

"There's been a change of plans, Zenith. I'm sorry, but we'll skip the rest of the rooms for now. You'll get to see them eventually, with all the time you're spending here. Now follow me. Let's make haste, shall we? We don't want to keep the other Champions waiting." The both of them had rounded another corridor to stop at a door. It looked pretty ordinary compared to the other entrances of the Hall of legends, nothing high-tech or made for security purposes. It was just a white wooden door with a golden doorknob. A red piece of paper was haphazardly taped onto the smooth surface as if as an afterthought, with words scribbled onto it with yellow marker.

'Meeting Room'

"I think it's time for you to finally introduce yourself," With that, Arceus somehow managed to turn the circular doorknob with his hoof, pushing the wooden door open.

The room held a few pieces of furniture: a single circular table placed in the centre. It seemed quite high tech, but Zenith was more focused on the eight Pokemon sitting around it, each of them looking back at him with different expressions on their faces.

"Uh… hi." Zenith raised a paw awkwardly in greeting, fighting his inner introvert instincts to look down at the ground. There was just something that made Zenith feel out of place in this Meeting Room. Maybe it was the fact that Zenith still had some dried blood on his fur, standing out against the pristine conditions of the room he was in. Maybe it was all the attention he was receiving from the Champions and those legendaries staring at him from all directions, waiting and judging his reactions.

Or maybe it was the fact that all eight Champions were female. With the Legendaries having no genders besides the ones Zenith had labelled them with, the Umbreon was the only male in the room.

"Hey, look guys! It's a boy!" A Porygon-Z announced, floating in circles in the air freely. Zenith knew that all types of Porygons had no gender, but based on the small female gender symbol stuck on the Porygon-Z's chest, it was best to address 'her' as such.

"Oh, really, Poll-E. I hadn't noticed," Next to the empty seat the Porygon-Z was hovering above, a Decidueye stared at Zenith from beneath the shadows of her green hood. Her eyes were bright and piercing, and the Umbreon felt as if she could see right through him, analysing him thoroughly. But other than her eyes, her face was unreadable, with no way to tell how she felt towards Zenith besides her body language of the Grass/Ghost-type, which radiated boredom.

"But you should have. I mean, Eeveelutions are kinda hard to tell apart, but I'm pretty sure even you can see the differences clear enough to know that he's a-" The Porygon-Z kept chatting on at the Decidueye's answer, with a sense of complete obliviousness to her respondent's sarcasm and dry tone.

"Shut it." Irritation clear on her face, the Decidueye pulled on the strings on her hood, the green leaves closing on her face, hiding it from view as she sat there, motionless and silent. Seeing that she had succeeded, Poll-E's stream of words shut off immediately, chuckling to 'her'self.

"This was what we were called here for? I was in the middle of good dream...:" A Noivern had her jaws stretched wide open in a yawn, blinking at Zenith through half-opened eyes. She held a kunai in one of her claws, and was twirling it lazily around one talon. She leaned forward on the table to get a better look at Zenith, before laying back in her chair with a huff. Kunai grasped firmly in her palm, she placed her claws behind her head, spreading out her large purple-green wings. "Are you sure he's the correct one, Arceus? Other than the blood, he sure doesn't look like Champion material."

"Well, it's always nice to have a new face around here." A gentler tone from a Golem, waving the air around her as of to shoo the Noivern's insults away. "And plus," She turned to said Noivern with an accusing gaze. "Didn't you say you were going to be training when I asked you to help me out just now?"

As the Noivern fumbled for an answer, an Espeon floating in the air like the Porygon-Z spoke up. The Espeon was surrounded in a bright pink glow, using Psychic to 'fly'. Zenith was impressed. He had only seen Alakazams, masters of psychic powers fo something similar on Mewtube, levitating themselves above the ground, but never circling around him like the Eeveelution before her. He remembered the reversion to prime form upon a Champion's death, but the Espeon seemed so much younger than the rest, around his age, while the other seven Champions looked around the age range of late teens to matured adults.

The Psychic-type seemed to share the same thought about him. "Doesn't he look a bit too young to end up ...here?" Now that the Espeon was really close to him, Zenith could see that the Espeon had a really small frame, even compared to him. He also hadn't noticed this before, mainly because of the pink glow, but the Espeon actually had a cyan gem instead of the usual red, while her eyes were almost as crimson as his, not her species' usual purple, leaving more questions in his mind that had yet to be answered.

"You're one to talk, short stack," Next to the Golem, a Salazzle piped up with an impish look on her face, sharing a fist bump with an Alolan Raichu that sat next to her. The insult got a reaction out of the Espeon, who turned from her mini examination of Zenith to look back at the duo, red eyes blazing with a bright blue glow. She zoomed over to the Salazzle and Raichu, who were now starting to be enveloped by the same pink glow around the Espeon.

"Why you pieces of s-"

"His arrival. It signals the start." All hands turned to the speaker of ominous words. It was a Cofagrigus, eyes closed and four ghostly hands folded across her chest. Other activities were abruptly halted as everyone's attention was directed on the coffin Pokemon, waiting for her to elaborate. Everyone except the Decidueye, who had laid her covered face directly on the circular tabletop in what seemed to be disinterest.

"He has entered the Halls. Slowly but surely, the civilisations will rise agai-"

"Hello, Champions," Arceus' booming voice drowned out the Cofagrigus' low, raspy whispers. "I hope you all are doing well, and are still mindful of your manners. Now, how about a little self-introduction? Starting with our newest Champion."

"I-I'm Zenith."

"Poll-E!" The Porygon-Z responded gleefully, oval arms spinning wildly.

"Son Dan-O." A flat, monotone voice from the Decidueye. She had propped her head up on the table with a wing, and Zenith felt like his soul was being searched again.

"Vo… id." The Noivern yawned mid-sentence, stretching out her wings again.

"Gigi. it's nice to meet you, Zenith. If you have any problems, you can always come to us for-"

"Hold it!" The Espeon butted into the Golems words, flashing Zenith a cheeky smile. "If he needs our help, he's going to earn it. I'm Solaire, by the way. You have quite some way to go before you're fully accepted as one of us." There was something intimidating about the small Espeon that made Zenith gulp at her words. Like Arceus, Soliaire was also probably more powerful than she seemed to be.

"Reina." The Alolan Raichu had her gaze focused on a card that she held in her paw, turning it over back and forth as she inspected it single-pawed. With a flick of her wrist, the card vanished in a shower of sparks, and another flick caused three more cards to appear in the dame paw. She looked up to meet Zenith's gaze, hints of a cocky smile evident on her face. "Impressive, huh?"

"I'm Clara. You know, Reina, I've never seen you show anyone that trick except for me, and now Zenith? Don't tell me you've already fell for hi-kidding! Kidding!" The Salazzle couldn't restrain herself, bursting out into laughter as she ducked underneath the table to avoid the lightning-shaped tail sharing furiously at her head, dodging the bolts of lightning that was hurled at her. When the barrage of attack attempts had ceased, she peeked out from under the table, pointing in the direction if the Cofagrigus. "And that coffin over there is… a billion years old, give or take a few millennia. Her name's Maganza."

Said Cofagrigus continued to remain silent. Even though her eyes were still closed, Zenith had the eerie sensation that the Ghost-type could see everything in the room.

"Excellent. Now that formalities are out of the way, let's get down to your tasks for the week. Now, it has been a while since a new Champion has been introduced to these Halls. In order to get Zenith accustomed to daily life here, all of you have been assigned to make him feel welcome and included."

"So in other words…" Clara leaned forward on the round table surface in order to allow herself to… band together to help hold this dude's paw?" Most of the Champions in the room groaned collectively at the bad pun while Zenith touched his ears self-consciously, the Salazzle sitting back in her chair with a proud smile on her face.

Arceus gave a small chuckle. "Not exactly. Each one of you will have a different time slot from your schedules set aside to show him the difficult rooms and how to use them. Your mentors will give you your new temporary schedules later. It will also be best if you read up on Zenith's prelife, and make sure to share yours with him too. Despite this slight change, you will still be able to carry out all of your usual activities. That will be all. Are there any additional questions?"

Silence.

"Good. Meeting dismissed."

The Champions left the room one by one, each of them taking a passing glance at Zenith as they exited. Arceus and Palkia turned, the Alpha Pokemon giving a nod to Dialga before leaving as well, the Temporal Pokemon returning the gesture. Now that the Meeting Room was empty, Dialga gestured to one of the chairs around the table, which Zenith went to sit on.

"So, Zenith. How are you enjoying the Halls and the Champions?"

Everything still felt strange to Zenith, that Pokemon considered literal Gods down on Earth were just having a casual conversation with him right now. The entire tour, the introductions and new faces, all was a blur, like a sort of dream that seemed to last forever. Half of him was still in denial about the entire situation, unable to accept whatever was going on, his mind receiving so many stimuli in such a short time span that it was trying to convince him that nothing he was experiencing was real.

But it soon had to face the hard the truth his other half contained. As unbelievable as everything seemed, he could not escape the 'reality' he was in now. He had died, killed by Sylvie, but brought back by Legendaries as a Champion. Try as he might to reject his current position, it would be a hard thing to do. Arceus had already stated that Champions could not rejoin the mortal world, and to choose the other option… It was selfish of him to admit, but he didn't want to die.

To be honest, Champions did sound cool once he thought about it.

"I... I don't know yet. Everything just seems so…"

"Unreal? Dreamlike? Unbelievable? Too good to be true?"

"... yeah."

"Listen, Zenith. I know it may be hard to accept initially. Other Champions have also had their doubts when they first entered this place. But this is nothing to deny or be afraid of. It's actually a good thing to become a Champion, you just need to see the positives of this."

Pondering Dialga's words, Zenith realised a bit of sense in them. To be selectively hand-picked by Legendaries amongst all others, granted demigod status and immortality to take down the increasing amount of evil in the world. To reject this opportunity that others would literally die to have…

 _...And maybe._ A small voice whispered in his mind. _Another opportunity to see Cleo again._

It was time for Zenith to embrace the role bestowed upon him.

He was ready to become a Champion. But one last time, to really make sure he wasn't dreaming…

"Ouch!"

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Zenith shook his arm, trying to get rid of the stinging.

"I assume that all your doubts are settled?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Once again, welcome to the Hall of Legends, Champion. Let's get you to your room first, then run through your schedule."

* * *

**Champion Character Creator Credits**

**Void (Noivern)- _DevilsUnited_** _(DevilsUnited on Fanfiction . net)_

**Poll-E (Porygon Z)- _u/Folium249_**

**Gigi (Golem)- _u/Folium249_**

**Son Dan-O (Decidueye)- _Luanastar_** _(LuanOTP on Fanfiction . net)_

**Maganza (Cofagrigus)- _Transcendant_**

**Reina (Alolan Raichu)- _Halcyon_**

**Clara (Salazzle)- _A.B_**

**Soliare (Espeon)- _Solarflare the Flareon_** _(ShinyUmbreonLover on Fanfiction . net)_

Thank you to all these wonderful people for creating such fun character concepts for me to play around with/ write about! If anyone wants to submit a character of their own, feel free to do so!


	39. Chapter 39

**NSO Chapter 39**

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Zoey's sensitive ears perked up at the sound of stomping pawsteps echoing up the staircase, followed by a loud slam of a door. With all the noise outside, the rest of Zoey's senses were forced awake despite her body's feeble protests to continue sleeping. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she decided to check out what was going on. As she sat up, letting her legs dangle off the side, she smiled at Julley, all snuggled up in warm blankets next to her. He was sound asleep, worn out from the night-to-day shift that they had just been through a few hours ago. The Lucario's sleeping face seemed so calm, so relaxed, showing no signs of anger, irritation or stress that had been especially prevalent throughout work. Giving Julley a small peck on the cheek, she was careful not to wake him up as she opened her door slightly to sneak a peek.

Janice was pacing outside of Cleo's closed door. The Flareon's movements were oddly reminiscent of her own actions a few days ago, when Sylvie had first manipulated Zenith into leaving Cleo. Something had definitely happened between the two of them, and it was more than likely that it regarded the Umbreon. Quietly closing the door behind her, Zoey stretched out her tired limbs, walking over to her mother.

"Hey mom. What's wrong?"

"Oh, hey, Zoey. Hope you slept well. I… just need to think for a while about how to talk to Cleo."

"Yeah, I've been there too. What's it about?"

"It's about that… incident that happened at that beach resort. Something happened there that landed Cleo in the hospital. I-"

"Wait- Cleo was sent to the hospital?"

"Yes, but she's fine now. I got her discharged. But…I may have acted rashly when talking about Zenith. I don't know what happened yet, and I'm still completely in the dark about everything…" Zoey had a sickening feeling in her stomach, her mother's words fading away into the background as her mind whirred into action. Her plan to ambush Sylvie must have gone wrong at some point, and Cleo must have lost to the Sylveon in the end. This, and all that resulted from it, was her fault. But if Cleo had gotten upset over her mom just talking about Zenith, that might have meant that… no.

"…I'm afraid that something bad happened, and I want to know what did so I can help Cleo. Both the school and news are saying nothing, and I don't think Cleo would want to recount the experience again."

"We could always ask."

Cleo didn't even bother looking up when she heard a knock on her door. She had been staring blankly at nothing ever since she came home, curled up in that same ball position in her bed. Her mind was trying to grasp onto a single thought as many entered and exited her mind, but all were too fast, too incomprehensible to be coherent. Her senses felt dampened, barely able to make out the sound of someone jiggling her locked door handle.

"Cleo?" The voice seemed even more muffled than usual, not only because of the door, but distant, as if someone were calling out her name from a place far, far away from her.

"We… we just want to talk." Another knock accompanied her mom's voice. As soft as it was, Cleo could hear the genuine concern in the statement. The Vaporeon knew that the proper thing to do was to unlock her door, share what she had gone through with her mom so that they could both work out a plan to help her push forward in the future. However, Cleo felt physically weak, and she doubted if she would even be able to lift a paw, let alone open a door to see her mother again.

_See… someone… again?_

"Cleo, please open up. I just want to help you."

This time, inexplicable infuriation overwhelmed the Vaporeon upon hearing those words. She had never realised she was so pent up with that many unresolved emotions, and that sentence seemed to be the tipping point for her. With anger as the only available outlet she could find, Cleo's mind started to bring up memories, especially the ones during the car ride home, to try and justify herself and her state. Like the weather, a storm was brewing within her, that rational plan from before just mere raindrops that were being lost in the flood of indignation.

"Help me? Help me how? By deciding that I should never see Ze- _him_ again?"

"Look, raindrop. I acted rashly then. I didn't know-"

"And you still don't know anything that happened! You only force your own ideas on me, thinking it'll solve EVERYTHING! You don't even understand anything I've been through, so why don't you just leave me alone!"

Zoey could tell that those words hit close to home for her mom, shock clear on the Flareon's face as she flinched at those harsh comments, spluttering to reply.

"I- you- I didn't- I just wanted-"

"Cleo. It's Zoey. I think we all just need to calm down."

"I think! I think! You know what I think, _Zoey_?" The shouting from the other side of the door took on a more hostile, accusing tone. "I think you're a horrible sister. In fact, if it weren't for you, none of us would have gotten into this mess! If it weren't for you, Ze- Zeni-"

Voice straining to properly pronounce his name, the shouts cut off abruptly, descending into subdued sobbing.

Janice looked over at Zoey in confusion for a moment but shook her head, as if to dismiss any other thoughts regarding the Glaceon. She started to knock harder on the sky-blue wood, her voice now sounding more authoritative.

"Cleo Torrent, you open this door right now or-"

The Flareon's paw was stopped mid-slam by a dark blue one, mother looking to see daughter staring at her with pleading eyes.

"Mom."

The Flareon hesitated for a second, before letting her paw drop back into the floor again. There was no sound coming from Cleo's room, which Zoey seemed to be staring very intently at, trying her best to avoid her mother's gaze. Cleo's harsh words drove the guilt in further, the feeling writhing uncomfortably in the pits of the Ice-type's stomach.

"So, it looks like both my daughters are hiding things from me."

"I-I'll tell you everything I know. But can we do this in the kitchen? I think it's best to give Cleo some space, let her calm down first until an actual report comes out. We can figure out what to do then."

"… fine. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Cleo's chest rose and fell erratically with each ragged breath that she took in. Hiccups and sniffles were wracking her throat as she choked on her sobs, her paws pounding weakly on her bed, sheets soaked with tears. They weren't tears of regret from lashing out, rather tears of anger. Anger at the world, everyone around her, even herself. It was all due to their, her incompetence that had led things to turn out the way that they were. It was still raining outside, but the strong, chilling winds that blew into the room couldn't cool the Vaporeon's flaring temper. If anything, the tapping of raindrops on her half-opened window seemed to make her more enraged. Growling in annoyance at the persistent sound, a water tendril slammed the window shut, the Vaporeon covering both of her ears with a pillow to block out the rest of the noises.

The pillow proved to be an effective dampener on the interfering sounds of the outside world, and when Cleo closed her eyes, she could finally be alone with her thoughts again. Facing a whirlwind of jumbled emotions, where the most prevalent one seemed to be, once again, anger. Only now, when Cleo was surrounded by the peace and quiet of her pillow, the burning feeling crashing down on her mind seemed to make the most sense. It was right for her to be mad. It was right for her to be angry, to blame others for Zenith's death. Anger towards Sylvie, for starting and ending off everything. Anger towards herself for failing to save, to protect Zenith. Anger at how Zoey's plan failed, and how Gayle and Apollo stayed out of most of the fight, barely contributing at all, leaving her to do most of the heavy lifting. But as angry at them as she was, there tiny bit of rational thought was still there. It shouted into the ever-growing rage, its small voice trying to reason with her, to remind her that none of this was her, her family or friend's fault. They tried their best, didn't they? It wasn't like any of them had known beforehand about how any of this was going to turn out… wait.

Cleo's gaze hardened with determination and hatred as realisation dawned upon her.

She was going to have to pay a visit, probably have a little chat with a certain Pokemon.

…

"Wait… You're saying that everything was your idea?"

Zoey took a little sip of coffee from her mug before replying, trying to prolong the time she had before she had to answer the question. The taste of ground-up beans hit differently than usual, her insides continuing to squirm with something other than the drink's bitter aftertaste. She tried to, but still couldn't meet her mom's gaze.

"Yeah. I guess… things just didn't turn out the way I imagined."

"Zoey, I…" Janice pinched the bridge of her snout. "Do… Do you have any idea what you may have landed yourself into? For you and Cleo?"

"I have an idea." The Glaceon thought back to her college classes, smiling internally as she appreciated the grim irony of the situation. Studying to become a policemon in the future and here she was, possibly —no, most likely breaking the law. Even if the punishment she recieved wasn't as harsh, the permanent stain on her record would dash any hopes of getting into law enforcement.

But Cleo. Cleo, Gayle and Apollo. What kind of impact would this have on them? Zoey knew that since they were 'underage', they would mostly be dealt with by their school rather than the police. The potential penalties wouldn't be as severe as hers, but the Ice-type couldn't help but worry about the worse, psychological torture Cleo would have to suffer through.

Speaking of That Vaporeon… Zoey hadn't heard anything from her in a while. No noise had been heard from the closed room in the thirty minutes Zoey was talking to her mother. She was starting to get uneasy about what might be going on in that blue room, and the probably rash actions that Cleo might do in her outbursts of anger… or grief. She knew that in her sister's eyes, she was mainly to blame, but she had to check up on her, even if it meant getting yelled at. She would gladly take anything coming to her, as long as it ensured that Cleo would be okay.

Janice's lips had been moving the entire time, but Zoey didn't register a word her mom had said, too caught up in her thoughts.

"...so you even know the penalty for masterminding an assault is? And what about-"

"Mom. We have to check on Cleo. Now."

Janice grumbled to herself in annoyance as she recognised that faraway look in her eyes. What did it even take to get some respect in this household? But as rude as her own daughter was being to her, she realised that there might be a shred of logic in those concerned words. Even when Cleo had isolated herself in her room before, sobs, snores, or at least the shuffling of paws could be heard through the thin closed door. The fact that not one peep had come from Cleo's room in such a long period of time was… unsettling.

"Fine. I'll get the keys."

Nothing impeded the door's movement as it was unlocked with a 'click'. It swung forward, creaking under loose hinges to reveal Cleo's room. For a moment, Zoey envisioned the view before her: wrinkled bed sheets soaked with tears, books strewn and furniture overturned on the floor. Scraps of pages floated in the air as the romance novels they belonged to lay abandoned, decimated all around the room. Cleo, her back towards the both of them her frilled head turned slowly to stare at the intruders at her doorway. Her black-blue eyes burned with hatred, and her fangs were bared in a snarl, ready to-

Zoey blinked, and her visions of emotion-filled destruction vanished before her eyes, to be replaced by reality. Nothing had been destroyed at all, in fact the room seemed to look tidier than before. Dry blankets folded and placed in a corner of the bed, stationery sorted and collected neatly in respective containers on the table, and all books were arranged in alphabetical-author order on her bookshelf. Nothing had left its position in the room.

Nothing except for its occupant.

The VAporeon was nowhere to be seen. The only clue to her disappearance seemed to be the side window in the room. It was wide open, the storm raging on outside blowing raindrops onto the blue carpeted floor, which was becoming darker and damper by the second, much like Zoey's spirits. While Janice started to freak out beside her, Zoey spotted a small piece of paper, resting on top of a head pillow. Cleo's phone was placed on it, the slip's black colour standing out from its surroundings easily. Words had been written on them in silvery ink, printed in Cleo's familiar pawwriting.

Gone out to think.  
Trying to get answers to some questions I have.  
I won't venture out of town, I'll be safe.  
No need to come look for me.  
Back by midnight—latest.

Zoey passed the note to her mom. As she read it, Janice looked up to meet her daughter's gaze, and the Glaceon knew that they were both thinking the same thing.

_**Oh, Cleo. Please don't do anything you'll regret.** _

Gayle sat at the dining room table, reading a book while listening to the never ending sound of raindrops hammering on the window. She decided to take a small break, looking away from the yellowed pages for a moment to stare at the scenery outside. Or at least she tried to. It had been raining the entire day, the storm so heavy that the downpour of rain was more like a curtain, hindering everyone's vision. Gayle could barely see the houses across the street, save for the occasional car speeding by, its bright headlights briefly cutting through the shadows, illuminating the surroundings before driving past, leaving the neighbourhood back in near pitch-black darkness.

Gayle turned her attention back to the book. She found that she had to focus on something, to immerse herself so deeply in the task she was carrying out. If not…

"I hear them again."

"Don't you think you should seek help about this?"

"That's… why you're here."

"Like, professional help."

"I'm sure they'll go away with time. After all, they can't be that bad if I can block them out just by focusing. As long as no one breaks my concentra-"

Gayle broke off as she heard the doorbell, faint in the pounding of the rain.

…

The door clicked open as it was unlocked. Gayle opened it slightly, to prevent the rain from getting in, but wide enough to see the Pokemon on her doorstep, the newcomer dripping water all over the wooden porch.

"Hey, Cleo. What brings you here in this weather?"

The Vaporeon pushed down her annoyance and impatience, forcing the tips of her mouth to curl upwards in an attempt to smile. Why had Gayle taken so long to open the door? Why had the Vibrava's green eye lingered in the peephole of the door, watching her the entire time? There were questions she wanted answered, but now was not the time. She had more pressing issues on her mind at the moment. Gayle was not the one she wanted to find. But as disinterested as she was, Cleo couldn't help but notice the dark eye bags underneath the Vibrava's eyes. They weren't there before when she left the resort.

"Didn't sleep well, huh?"

Gayle gave a loud yawn, stretching out her limbs as she did so. "Yeah. Sleeping's… difficult now since the… incident." Words trailed off into awkward silence as both Pokemin avoided each other's gaze. None were comfortable yet in bringing up such a touchy subject.

"So… is your mom at home?"

"Mom? Oh yeah, Kelli. No, she's not here. I think she's still at work…" Gayle's words trailed off again, thus time in speechless surprise as Cleo turned tail and walked away, her silhouette slowly disappearing into the storm raging around th.

"I think I should go warn Kell...mom."

Cleo was glad that it was raining. If it wasn't, there would be nothing cooling down the seething fury that boiled beneath her skin, keeping her from exploding outwards in a rampage of public and private damage. The raindrops weren't even touching her now, any falling near her all being gathered into a ball above her head. With the amount of rainfall being dumped on the town, that ball was increasing in size quickly, and she could feel the strain on her mind to hold everything together. Her pawsteps started to slow, the Vaporeon trudging along as she dragged along the weight that just kept growing heavier. With a scream, she hurled the ball of rain as hard as she could, seeing it fly out of the range of her hydrokinetic powers. It burst in a shower of droplets, each scattering wildly in different directions, soon unidentifiable from the rest of the rain. Panting slightly from the exhaustion, her lighter footsteps sped up from a brisk jog into a run, until the Vaporeon was sprinting down the pavement, twisting and turning sharply as she narrowly rounded corners hidden by the rain. All she could hear was the sound of her paws drumming against the concrete floor, perfectly in sync with her rapid heartbeat. Thanks to her Ability, the rain allowed Cleo keep sprinting continuously, revitalising her energy with every drop.

She ran and ran, stopping momentarily to glance at green signs mounted on tall posts to confirm her location. The rain was still relentlessly pouring down, hiding the world and its surroundings from her. There was nothing else to look at, nothing else to focus on, leaving Cleo alone with her thoughts again. Thoughts, all with question marks at their ends, clamouring around in her mind, begging to be answered. She knew that the Pokemon she was looking for held the answers in her paw. She knew that would never be able to come up with those answers on her own, but the more she tried to, the more illogical, irrational the explanations became. Her anger at her incognizance blazed like an open bonfire, spurring her onwards.

Cleo had been running for a while, and could see the small rays of sunlight peeking through the thick cover of the storm clouds slowly fading away. Lampposts began to be activated, their glowing round heads providing little, but enough illumination for Cleo to see her route as the sky got darker and darker. She paid up her pace, lampposts glowing streaks as she ran past them, the scenery they revealed a barely recognisable blur.

The rain had lightened significantly, reduced to a small drizzle with the occasional cool breeze. Night had finally befallen the town, with stars twinkling faintly in the dark sky. A lone lamppost shone its light down on a metal bench. Cleo stepped into the bright beam, appreciating the vision it gave her. The last few hundred metres had been barely visible, with the town deciding to cut down on light pollution in more rural areas. And besides, who needed to station that many lamp posts at the very edge,at the entrance of this small town anyway? She stepped past the bench, preferring to fixate her gaze on the single-storey building that lay ahead. A Servine Elevens, almost identical to all the others scattered around the entire town. Brightly lit, with various posters plastered over the three opaque exterior walls. Cleo hovered around the side of the store, making sure not to reveal herself to anyone through the double glass doors. Now that she was actually here, her thoughts slowing with her pawsteps, the Vaporeon was starting to have a few doubts. After all, a sprint halfway across town still took some time, and through the jumbled mess of uncountable thoughts, some of them were starting to actually make sense.

Would feeling angry at Kelli do any good? Was it just an excuse to point the blame at someone else? An outlet to take her annoyance out on, the guilt that she felt she deserved for her own incompetence at battling, allowing Sylvie to get to Zenith that easily? Or if she had refused to attack the both of them, he would still be alive? Sure, Kelli may have been able to have seen the future that night, but it wasn't like she could have trained Cleo up in the span of a few hours. And if kelli did warn Cleo, what good would that have done? It would have just made her feel discouraged at Zenith's possibly inevitable death, without even trying her hardest to change the outcome.

The fog of doubt had almost smothered her bonfire of anger, the flame of her enraged emotions now a weak, wavering candle in the wind. What exactly did she want to do? Storm tight through those doors and demand answers? It was the plan she had come up with on her way here, but now she was finding so many claws in it. What if Kelli had already left? What if it was another Pokemon behind the counter? What if other customers were also in the store at the same time and she caused an unnecessary scene? What if-

"Hello there, Cleo . Who would've guessed I'd meet you here today?"

Cleo jumped at the voice, whipping her head around to meet the unexpected visitor. In the dim light, the Vaporeon realised how much Zenith took after his mother, behaviour wise. She could only see the Espeon's silhouette outlined in the low lighting of this place, a backpack slung over her back. Despite the tufts of fur, forked tail and other minute details that separated her appearance from her son, in the darkness, the resemblance was almost uncanny. The way she stood, paws shifting her body weight from side to side restlessly as she waited patiently for an answer, the tiny flick of the ears, the twitch of the tail. It was as if Zenith was standing in front of her, every single movement of his so familiar to her mirrored in her mother. To see something so similar to the Umbreon right before her, yet to be hit again with the hard truth that he was gone forever…

Kelli watched as Cleo broke down, stamping a paw on the wet floor. The last of the red-hot anger within her was gone, released through warm tears that rolled down her cheeks, quickly washed away by the ongoing downpour that pelted her face and body. Her infuriated stomps grew weaker with each pound against the pavement, and with a final splash of dirty puddled water, Cleo hung her head, looking to one side to avoid the Espeon's gaze. With no emotions driving her rash actions forward, she was starting to feel pretty ashamed of herself. What had she been thinking? Or rather, why hadn't she been thinking? This whole plan had been a disaster from the start. Maybe like the previous plan, it was time to accept another failure and head home. Maybe Kelli would forget about her being here if she asked nicely-

Cleo tensed up as she felt dry fur brush against her soaked skin. The raindrops, relentlessly stinging her the Vaporeon, suddenly ceased their assault, pitter-pattering on something above her instead. Glancing around, Cleo noticed a translucent purple dome surrounding her and two pairs of purple paws. She still refused to tilt her head upwards, her confidence completely replaced with remorse at the rude things she was going to do to the Pokemon now helping her. She continued to stand there, cheeks burning, staring intently at the stone path, watching the paws pad closer, her peripheral vision tracking them as they stopped beside her. As the paws tucked themselves together in a sitting position, a thin, pronged tail entered her field of view, curling around her chin to slowly lift her head upwards. Cleo didn't resist, and looked up to meet kelli's face, expecting the worst.

The sides of the Espeom's mouth were curled upwards slightly in a similar smile, but it was a warm one. Her eyes, despite radiating with purple psychic power, were filled with compassion and empathy. Kelli pointed in a direction, and the Vaporeon followed her paw until her eyes landed on the bench she had passed earlier, still brightly lit by the lamppost behind it.

"Would you like to sit and talk for awhile?"

"I… I have a curfew…"

"Don't worry. I'll ensure you get home before midnight."

With how much she had screwed up earlier, Cleo figured that she might as well get what she had originally come here for.

"I- I guess."

The seat of the bench was still wet with rain, but Kelli didn't seem to mind. The dome still covered the two of them, preventing any further drenchings. Now that she had calmed down, and given herself enough time to survey her surroundings, the bench was actually in a small unfinished park, small shrubs and tall thickets all around her, with a small stone path carving a way through it all.

"So… why? Why didn't you warn Gayle, or at least try to stop Sylvie yourself? He's your son! His life should be more important than work!"

The Espeon seemed to hesitate for a moment, blinking one too many times before answering.

"There's something you need to know about time, Cleo. Future Sight only shows the user the future without any additional interference from the user. A future that happens when no one knows about it. To try to change, to prevent the original, intended outcome… many Psychic-types have tried, and almost all have failed, with each event growing even more disastrous than they had foreseen. I, too, have made the same mistake before…'

A momentary glimpse of regret in those purple eyes, blinked away quickly.

"...If I tried to stop it myself, or told you what was going on, things could have turned out much worse."

"Much worse than death?"

"Much worse than his death. Yours. Gayle's. Other innocent Pokemon's. Sylvie might've made it out alive while the both of you died. All these could be much worse situations than the one that happened."

"So… Zenith and Sylvie dying was the best possible scenario."

"It wasn't the best option, and it's definitely not the worst. Time is tricky, Cleo. Especially the future. You won't know if a situation's worse or better than what you foresee until it actually happens. The slightest factor or action may change the future drastically. All this was why I didn't tell you anything, only tried to soften the blow for you."

_Whatever happened to Zenith, it had to happen._

"I really want to punch Dialga in the face."

"I'd advise against doing that. We can only hope that time's as good as healing as it is at hurting."

"You're really bad at providing encouragement, huh?'

"... yeah. To be honest, I-" Kelli stopped abruptly, her large ears twitching, swivelling to hear a noise that Cleo couldn't detect. There was a rustling in the bush behind the bench as leaves and branches were pushed out of the way, revealing a small Leafeon staring back at the two of them. He looked sleepy, probably cut off too long from the sunlight that normally supplied most of his energy.

"Leaf!" Cleo reached her paws out to catch her brother, who had been lifted into the air by a purple glow to be set on the Vaporeon's lap. "What are you doing here, especially this late? Mom and Zoey must be worried sic-" Cleo paused in the middle of her rant, her own words hitting home. Just leaving through her window without informing anyone, placing a small note that no one might notice? Her mom and sister must be feeling the same as she did right now.

Cliff blinked at Cleo through heavy eyelids, his words slightly slurred by the sweet temptation of sleep.

"You… so mad… wanted… make sure… don't turn to the Dark side!" The Leafeon gripped tighter on Cleo's paws as he spoke, as if afraid that she would leave again.

"It's fine, Leaf. I won't turn to the Dark side. Now sleep, little bro. It's been a long day." Stroking the fur on his flank, Cleo smiled for the first time today as Cliff yawned, quickly falling asleep in her arms. She turned back to Kelli, but the Espeon was currently engaged in a phone call.

"...I'll ensure the both of them get back home safely before 12. I just need a few minutes to talk to Cleo if that's okay with you… Alright, thanks. See you later."

Hanging up, Kelli faced a concerned Cleo.

"Don't worry. I've informed your mom of you and your brother's whereabouts."

"Thanks. What were you saying before?"

"I… I never really had to comfort Zenith before. So I'm not really the most qualified to talk about your feelings, but we can still talk if you want."

"That would be nice." While all her anger had gone, uncertainty and questions still remained. Looking back, she realised that she had spent very little time today to consider herself, spending most of her energy and emotions to lash out at others and blame them instead. Perhaps sharing her problems with someone unrelated might relieve some of them.

"So, what are you going to do now, Cleo?" There was a pause as she thought in silence. After all, this was the question she had been dreading the most. All this time, she had been distracting herself with outbursts and poor decisions, bringing up the past to avoid thinking about the future.

"I don't know… with Zenith gone, I feel lost. Directionless. Like he was holding a map to the maze of life and now, it's gone. Does that make any sense to you?"

"Too much. Although his loss might affect us greatly, we all will have to accept it sooner or later, try our best to move on, no matter how painful it may be."

"Are you going to have a funeral?"

"Probably not. Even if I chose to, his body hasn't been recovered yet. There's nothing to cremate or bury, and a hollow grave is as good as an empty memory. As much as I mourn for him, I feel that it would just be unauthentic, probably insulting. The body might be gone, but our mind's aren't, and we should cherish the memories, slowly easing their weight and pain before you can finally tuck them aside."

"It's probably what Zenith would have wanted."

"I don't know about what Zenith wants, but I'll ask you this, Cleo. What do _you_ want to do? He's gone."

"Zenith isn't de-... you're right. He's gone." An instinctive outburst, silenced when she realised her mistake. Here she was, having seen Zenith die before her own two eyes, yet she still denied his death. It looked like moving on might be harder than she originally thought. The Vaporeon looked down at Cliff, a smile on his peaceful features. How she yearned to return to the blessed ignorance of a younger child, too young to comprehend the concept of loss, much less let it affect her.

Kelli patted the dejected Vaporeon on her baunched back with shared sympathy.

"It's going to be a tough time for you, Cleo. As much as we all hate it, it's time to walk down a new path, one without him."

"I'm afraid I don't know how to."

:"That's why you have to seek other help. I won't be able to solve everything for you. Consult your mom, sister. A therapist. School counselors. Help is all around you. You just have to seek it out first. But make sure that they're the right people that can help."

"Wow. That's… somewhat good advice."

"I'm just as surprised as you are."

The both of them sat in silence for a while, passing the time by listening to Cliff's cute snores as he curled up tighter in his slumber.

"I may not be that sure about what I want to do yet… but I think I'm going to keep using his moral compass as guidance. It'll be a nice part of him to remember."

"That's true. I still don't know how he managed to turn out into a Pokemon I'm proud to call my son."

"Must be good parenting."

"You flatter me." Seeing that the Vaporeon was now more at ease than when they had first encountered each other , Kelli slowly inched her way off the bench, gesturing for Cleo to follow her. She may not have solved all of the countless problems that Cleo was facing, but at least she had managed to help her out in some way. The rest would be left up to her to resolve, and who she would find to help her out. In the meantime, Kelli saw her try and fail to stifle a yawn, jaws opening wide at the late hour.

"Come on, Cleo. it's time to go home. " There was no need for the dome anymore, the rain had finally stopped. Lifting a still-sleeping Cliff through the air using Psychic, both Eeveelutions made sure not to disturb the Leafeon as they began the slow trek home.

Kelli said nothing the entire trip back, which gave Cleo plenty of time to think some more, to reflect back on the day's events with a clearer, anger-free perspective.

Before, when she had visited Gayle. She remembered that when looking past the Vibrava into her living room, she could see the dining table casting two shadows at different angles, when the only light source noticeable was the one hanging from the ceiling. However, the other light source was emanating an orange-yellow glow from an unusual spot in the living room, hidden from Cleo's line of sight. It moved and flickered wildly, the characteristics of an open flame rather than an artificial light. She didn't realise it back then, too distracted by how nonchalant Gayle looked, pushing her anger down to keep herself from shouting at the Vibrava for acting like Zenith was still with them. How foolish she had been. All that time she had spent before opening the door, Gayle must have been trying her hardest to hide Apollo from her, to try and spare her feelings. She must have guessed correctly that Cleo was still bitter about seeing couples. Gayle also seemed in the same boat, facing her own inner struggles left behind from the battle. Despite all that, to carry out a gesture of kindness like that that the Vaporeon was now only starting to appreciate. And for Gayle to now properly address Kelli as 'mom'...

Cleo snuck a peek over at the Espeon, catching her at the right moment as kelli stopped in her tracks, pulling something out of a small pocket in her bag. She smiled at Cleo, gesturing for her to go on first, that she would catch up soon. Even though she tried to hide the object in her paw, a glint of moonlight was reflected through the curved surface, escaping the gaps between Kelli's paws. Cleo continued to work, feigning obliviousness. After a while, she could hear soft pawsteps catch up to her side.

The ring. It wasn't there during their chat. With Kelli knowing her position outside the store without Cleo revealing herself… she must have already expected Cleo to find her, and removed anything on her related to relationships or Zenith, although their resemblance was an inadvertent oversight.. Even though Kelli did most of the talking that night, she tried her best to answer any questions Cleo had, to empathise with and console her. She could have just ignored Cleo and went on her way, but she stayed with the Vaporeon until she had calmed down, providing advice in a way that she had found the reasoning in and accepted. Not to mention that she had found Cliff, too.

Kelli was right. Help was around her. If she was going to make it through with her well-being mostly intact, she would need a lot of help. Starting with…

"We're here."

The porch lights were off, the entire house cast into shadow. Light spilled out from the main entrance of the house, where three silhouetted figures stood at the doorway, ears perking in their direction when the three Eeveelutions arrived at the gate of the fence lining the perimeter of the lawn. The lampposts lining the sidewalks illuminated Cleo's face as she stepped closer, and she could see the heads at the door turn to meet her approach. A spiked paw pointed in her direction, and three sets of paws pounded on concrete as Pokemon raced towards each other, family members embracing each other in the middle of the lawn. Kelli slowly walked up to the reunion, a floating Cliff behind her. Julley hung back, preferring to stay at the door and let the others have their moment. With his chest spike, hugging in groups was not his thing.

Cleo didn't want to let go. One side of her body was warm and the other was cold from the two bodies she tightened her grip on, burying her face into whatever fur she could find. She wanted to hide her face, to avoid looking back into the eyes of those that loved her the most, to meet their anxious gazes and know that she had hurt them with her actions. Listening to them now made the knot of guilt twist harder in her stomach, stirring up an even deer feeling of discomfort.

"Cleo! We're so glad you're back! We were so worried—where did you go? And Cliff—where's Cliff?"

"Here he is." Kelli gently placed the sleepy Leafeon on Zoey's back, Julley stepping forward to help the Glaceon slowly and steadily bring her little brother back to his room. Janice broke away from the hug, leaving Cleo with an odd sense of déjà vu as the Flareon started to talk to Kelli in hushed tones. She was unable to pick up on the topics that the adults were discussing, staring awkwardly at the grass while she waited.

"Thank you… Kelli, was it?"

"Yeah. I'm Zenith's mom."

"Uh…" Janice flashed back to all those things she had said about Zenith to Cleo earlier that day. Dangerous to be around. Even though she had given consent to Zenith to date her , it was because Cleo always looked so happy around him. But to her, he always had that vibe around him, that he seemed more trouble that he was worth. Ever since he had started to hang out with her everyday, she had that feeling that the vibe was starting to intensify.

"Thanks again for everything you've done my Cleo and Cliff, bringing them back and all."

"It's nothing. Just being a good neighbour."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you know where Zenith is? I haven't seen him at all today. Cleo also got… upset when I mentioned his name, so I think I'd like to ask him a few questions."

"Oh. I'm afraid none of us can talk to him anymore. He's dead." The Espeon didn't miss a beat, so nonchalantly delivering her answer that it took a while before the words started to sink into Janice's head.

"Oh my goodness—I didn't mean—I'm sorry to hear-"

"It's fine. I can cope on my own. Your daughter, on the other paw, can't. I've talked to her about this and she's opened up to the idea of receiving more help to get her through this difficult time. Especially yours." With that sentence, Kelli's eyes started to glow a bright purple, averting her gaze to avoid blinding the Flareon.

"And a message to you. Pass it on to Cleo too, if you want. Keep an eye out. In fact, we all should be on high alert, at least for the next few months. Also, tell Cleo that I'm willing to train Cleo in combat if she wants. Now if you'd excuse me, I have to go find Gayle." The Espeon bounded out of the lawn, checking the traffic before crossing the empty road to reach her home.

Janice turned back to Cleo, the Vaporeon still staring at the ground. Now that she had finally known the truth, everything was starting to click together. Mentally, she tried to justify herself, to claim that in defense. Cleo had refused to talk about the 'incident' in the hospital, which had led to her angering Cleo by bringing up Zenith. But gaslighting was not the right thing to do in any situation. Her child was upset because of her, and she felt the innate sense of maternal instinct tugging her forward, pulling on her pawsteps to stand next to her daughter, ready to accompany her through anything , in order to ensure that by the end of the day, she would be alright. After all, she'd been through a similar situation before, and the experience was unbearable to go through alone. To have the same torment inflicted on a Pokemon that young… she wasn't going to let it happen.

Cleo felt her mom's bushy tail drape over her back, brushing it with familiar, rhythmic strokes. Night had long fallen, and Cleo didn't realise how cold she actually was until she was surrounded by warmth. She tilted her head upwards slowly, and saw the same gaze she had seen in Kelli: those eyes, brimming with compassion, the feeling that to the Flareon, nothing else mattered in the world except for her. Cleo could feel tears choking her up again as she spoke in strained words, trying to push a coherent sentence through the tears.

"Mom… I-I'm sorry. I-I-I sh-should've-" Cleo's sniffles broke off as she felt a warm paw brush her cheek, wiping the streams of tears away. She let her mother slowly bring her in for another hug, her sobs muffled by the chest floof she had stuffed her face into, letting the rest of stored emotions out.

"It's okay, raindrop. You had your reasons. I'm sorry too, for not being patient with you, for not taking your feelings into account. I promise, I'll be a better mom from now on."

"I'm sorry." The voice was soft, the sobs subsiding.

"It's okay, Cleo. Let's get you home and into bed. It's been a busy day."

"But what about-"

"We can talk about anything you want tomorrow. Now, it's late and you need the rest."

Cleo let her mom guide her through the house, where Zoey was holding the door open for them. Sure enough she felt exhausted once she stepped onto the familiar bamboo floor, the weight of the events today crashing down on her. Her mom was right. She would need a good night's sleep, to tide everything over for now. And tomorrow morning, that same Flareon would be by her side to help. But until then…

"Thanks, mom."

Tucking a snoring Cleo into bed, Janice gave her daughter a loving kiss on the cheek, turning the lights off as she exited the room, closing the door behind her on the way out.

"Sweet dreams, raindrop."


End file.
